This year's National Night Out is expected to yield the largest number of participants ever. This is encouraging, but it is important to keep in mind that we should work together year-round to keep our neighborhoods safe. Out, there are many federal anti-crime programs. Over the past few years, Congress and the Clinton Administration have supported a number of good initiatives designed to curb violence, drug abuse, and crime in our country. Attorney General Janet Reno opened the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in October 1994 to administer this program and to expand community policing nationwide.
Drug abuse remains a significant issue in crafting federal anti-crime initiatives.
Clinton's Anti-Drug Media Campaign is based upon the success of a test advertising campaign begun last January in certain cities around the country. The test program has since raised drug awareness, with requests for anti-drug publications increasing by 300 percent, according to the White House. COPS coordinators believe that the anti-drug strategies developed in Minneapolis and the other selected cities will serve as models to other communities. In the midst of such positive progress, one particular anti-crime law faces trouble when it expires this fall. Under this plan, there would no longer be a mandatory waiting period for handgun purchases.