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Michigan Sheriffs Association, Grand Rapids, MI, June 23, 1970
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Michigan Sheriffs Association, Grand Rapids, MI, June 23, 1970
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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The original documents are located in Box D29, folder "Michigan Sheriffs Association,
Grand Rapids, MI, June 23, 1970" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and
Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box D29 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
Ron
Hary
MICHIGAN SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION, PANTLIND
2sk.
HOTEL, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN,
7 P.M. TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1970.
Hr
Vergan
GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND
GENTLEMEN. I MUST SAY I HAVE NEVER FELT
SO SAFE BEFORE IN ALL MY LIFE. THERE ARE
THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF LAW AND ORDER IN
THIS ROOM. IN FACT, THERE MUST BE MORE
SECURITY IN THIS ROOM THAN THERE IS IN
THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL WHEN THE
PRESIDENT COMES UP TO CAPITOL HILL TO
ADDRESS A JOINT MEETING OF CONGRESS.
WE ARE GATHERED HERE TONIGHT
BECAUSE WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT LAW AND
ORDER -- WE ARE CONCERNED THAT THIS BE
A NATION OF LAW AND ORDER WITH JUSTICE.
THIS IS ONE OF OUR NATIONAL GOALS -- LAW
FORD i LIBRARY GERALD
AND ORDER WITH JUSTICE.
-2-
OUR NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION IS
MOVING THIS NATION TOWARD THREE MAJOR
OBJECTIVES -- ENDING THE VIETNAM WAR
CURBING INFLATION, AND CONTROLLING CRIME
WE ARE CONCERNED HERE TONIGHT
PRIMARILY WITH THE THREAT TO OUR PEOPLE
THAT STEMS FROM ORGANIZED CRIME, CRIME IN
THE STREETS, AND THE PERVASIVE PHILOSOPHY
AMONG SOME OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE THAT
WHATEVER YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH IS ALL
RIGHT
I PERSONALLY AM CONCERNED WITH
SEEING TO IT THAT WASHINGTON PROVIDES LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ON THE LOCAL SCENE WITH
AS MUCH HELP AS POSSIBLE IN DOING THEIR
JOB.
OUR SHERIFFS NEED HELP. CRIME
HAS SENT THOUSANDS OF CITY RESIDENTS
FORD
SCURRYING TO THE SUBURBS THROUGHOUT MICHIGAN
GERA
BAHY
-3-
CRIME THREATENS THE FUTURE OF BUSINESSES
LOCATING IN THE SUBURBS. CRIME MAKES
OLDER AND YOUNGER AMERICANS, ALIKE,
AFRAID TO VENTURE OUT ON SHOPPING TRIPS
AFTER DARK. CRIME IS BREEDING SUCH FEAR
INTO OUR PEOPLE THAT THEY HESITATE TO
GO TO THE DOOR WHEN THE DOORBELL RINGS AT
NIGHT.
MY 1970 CONGRESSIONAL
QUESTIONNAIRE, WHICH I SENT TO EVERY HOME
IN KENT AND IONIA COUNTIES, HAS PRODUCED
CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF THE DEEP CONCERN OF
OUR PEOPLE ABOUT CRIME. THE QUESTIONNAIRE
SHOWED THAT KENT AND IONIA RESIDENTS ARE
MORE CONCERNED ABOUT CRIME THAN ABOUT ANY
OTHER PROBLEM FACING THE NATION. MY
QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS ALSO MADE CLEAR
THAT KENT AND IONIA RESIDENTS OVERWHELMINGLY
FAVOR NO-KNOCK ENTRY AND PREVENTIVE DETENTION
-4-
1)
AS WEAPONS IN A WAR AGAINST CRIME.
WE IN AMERICA ARE DEDICATED TO
PROGRESS. BUT NO FREE NATION CAN PROGRESS
WHEN ITS PEOPLE FEAR EACH OTHER. PROGRESS
WILL NOT THRIVE IN A GARDEN OF HATE
FEAR AND MISTRUST.
THE CONGRESS IS APPROPRIATING
FUNDS TO FIGHT CRIME, AND SO TOO ARE CITY
COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS OF SUPERVISORS.
WE ARE ALSO PROMOTING PROGRAMS TO ATTACK
THE ROOT CAUSES OF CRIME. BUT OUR FOREMOST
PRIORITY MUST BE A CRACKDOWN ON THE
CRIMINALS IN OUR MIDST. THIS CRACKDOWN
MUST BE IMMEDIATE AND IT MUST BE MASSIVE.
IF WE MUST SPEND LARGE
ADDITIONAL SUMS OF MONEY FOR JUDGES,
PROSECUTORS AND DETENTION FACILITIES, THEN
LET US START NOW. IF WE MUST RECRUIT,
TRAIN AND EQUIP THOUSANDS OF ADDITIONAL
FORD i LIBRARY GERALD
-5-
POLICEMEN AND DEPUTIES TO PATROL OUR
Datinet
PARKS, STREETS, BUILDINGS AND OTHER
5000
FACILITIES, THEN LET US GET ON WITH THE
JOB.
IF BAIL AND PAROLE POLICIES
AND PUNISHMENT FOR REPEAT OFFENDERS NEED
TOUGHENING, ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
SHOULD IMMEDIATELY MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
I AM CALLING FOR A CRACKDOWN.
THE CRACKDOWN I SPEAK OF IS NOT A
SUBSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION AND ANTI-POVERTY
PROGRAMS WHICH SEEK TO ELIMINATE THE ROOT
CAUSES OF CRIME. FEDERAL OUTLAYS FOR
EDUCATION AND RELATED PROGRAMS HAVE RISEN
FROM $800 MILLION IN 1960 TO NEARLY
$10 BILLION IN 1970 -- A MORE THAN 10-FOLD
JUMP. FEDERAL AID TO THE POOR HAS RISEN
FROM $11.9 BILLION TO $27.2 BILLION IN
JUST THE PAST SIX YEARS AN INCREASE OF
DERALD FORD LIBRARY
-6-
130 PER CENT. FOR THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC
OPPORTUNITY ALONE, THE CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF
SPENDING FROM ITS INCEPTION THROUGH
FISCAL 1970 IS $8,278,000,000.
BUT WHILE WE ATTACK THE CAUSES
OF CRIME, WE CANNOT WAIT. WE CANNOT WAIT
THE GENERATION OR MORE THAT IT WILL TAKE
FOR THESE PROGRAMS TO PRODUCE REAL RESULTS.
WE CANNOT WAIT THAT LONG TO PROTECT THE
MAJORITY OF LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS IN
AMERICA WHO ARE VICTIMIZED BY THUGS EVERY
NIGHT.
THE CRACKDOWN CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED
CAREFULLY -- AFFORDING EVERY SUSPECT AND
DEFENDANT HIS FULL RIGHTS AS AN ACCUSED
UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. IT CAN BE
ACCOMPLISHED -- IT MUST BE ACCOMPLISHED --
WITHOUT SACRIFICING ANY OPPORTUNITY TO
FORD
TRY TO REHABILITATE AND EDUCATE CONVICTED
LIBRARI
-7-
CRIMINALS TO THE LAW-ABIDING WAYS OF
SOCIETY. BUT IT CANNOT BE ACCOMPLISHED
IF WE CONTINUE TO FREE DANGEROUS CRIMINALS
ON BAIL TO REPEAT MAJOR OFFENSES. IN
SHORT IT CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT IMPOSING
SEVERE PUNISHMENT ON THOSE COMMITTING
SERIOUS CRIME.
THE POTENTIAL LAW-BREAKER MUST
FEAR BREAKING THE LAW AS MUCH AS INNOCENT
CITIZENS TODAY FEAR TO EXERCISE THEIR
RIGHT TO MOVE ABOUT FREELY IN THEIR
COMMUNITIES.
WE ARE BEGINNING THE MASSIVE
CRACKDOWN I HAVE CALLED FOR. THE
ADMINISTRATION IS WAGING AN ALL-OUT WAR
AGAINST CRIME WITH THE TOOLS IT HAS AT
HAND. THE BEST EXAMPLE OF THAT IS THE
NATIONWIDE NARCOTICS RAID LAST WEEKEND
WHICH BROKE UP A 10-CITY DRUG RING AND
GERALD LIBRARY R. FORD
-8-
RESULTED IN THE ARREST OF 135 PERSONS
AND THE SEIZURE OF COCAINE AND HEROIN
VALUED AT MORE THAN $2.5 MILLION. THERE
IS NO QUESTION THAT THE RAID WAS A SMASHING
SUCCESS, THE GREATEST OF ITS KIND IN THE
HISTORY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
WIBE-PING
AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE ARE
FIGHTING CRIME WITH THE TOOLS AT OUR
DISPOSAL, THE PRESIDENT HAS URGED THE
CONGRESS TO PROVIDE MORE WEAPONS AGAINST
CRIME
I AM PLEASED TO REPORT TO YOU
TONIGHT THAT IT APPEARS AT LEAST SOME
OF THOSE NEW ANTI-CRIME WEAPONS WILL BE
FORTHCOMING, ALTHOUGH I MUST SAY THAT
FIRES MUST BE LIT UNDER CERTAIN INFLUENTIAL
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IF WE ARE TO GET ALL
OF THE ANTI-CRIME AMMUNITION WE NEED.
FORD
FIRST OF ALL, LET ME EMPHASIZE
LIBRARY
-9-
THAT THE FUNDS NOW BEING MADE AVAILABLE
TO THE STATES AND LOCAL AREAS UNDER THE
1968 LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT
APPARENTLY WILL BE MORE THAN DOUBLED
IN FISCAL 1971 AND WILL CONTINUE TO RISE
SHARPLY IN THE FOLLOWING TWO FISCAL YEARS.
THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
HAS REPORTED OUT A LAW ENFORCEMENT
ASSISTANCE BILL WHICH WOULD AUTHORIZE
BLOCK GRANTS TOTALLING $650 MILLION FOR
FISCAL 1971 AS COMPARED WITH AN ACTUAL
APPROPRIATION OF $268 MILLION IN THE
CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. FOR FISCAL 1972 THE
AUTHORIZATION WOULD BE $1 BILLION, AND FOR
FISCAL 1973 IT WOULD BE $1.5 BILLION.
HOWEVER, AUTHORIZATION FIGURES
LIBRAR
MERELY REPRESENT THE LIMIT BEYOND WHICH
APPROPRIATIONS CANNOT GO. APPROPRIATIONS
USUALLY RUN CONSIDERABLY BELOW AUTHORIZATIONS.
-10-
IN FISCAL 1969, FOR INSTANCE,
THE AUTHORIZATION FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
ASSISTANCE WAS $100,111,000 BUT THE ACTUAL
APPROPRIATION WAS $59,106,180. FOR
FISCAL 1970 THE AUTHORIZATION WAS
$300 MILLION BUT THE APPROPRIATION WAS
$268 MILLION. FOR FISCAL 1971 THE
APPROPRIATION VOTED BY THE HOUSE IS
$480 MILLION, AN ACTION TAKEN IN THE
ABSENCE OF AN AUTHORIZATION BILL.
MICHIGAN IS RECEIVING AN
INCREASINGLY LARGE SLICE OF LAW
ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE FUNDS. OUR
ALLOCATION HAS GROWN FROM $1,732,820 IN
FISCAL 1969 TO $8,580,000 IN FISCAL 1970
AND WILL CLIMB TO AN ESTIMATED $15,521,000
IN FISCAL 1971.
THE LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE
ACT JUST REPORTED BY THE HOUSE JUDICIARY
R.FORD LIBRARY
-11-
COMMITTEE WOULD PUT COUNTIES IN AN
IDEAL SITUATION. COUNTIES WOULD BE REQUIRED
TO PAY LESS IN MATCHING FUNDS THAN UNDER
EXISTING LEGISLATION AND YET THEY WOULD
GET MORE THAN AT PRESENT IN FEDERAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE FUNDS. THE REASONS
FOR THIS ARE A GREATLY INCREASED FEDERAL
OUTLAY PLUS A REQUIREMENT THAT THE STATES
PUT UP 25 PER CENT OF THE LOCAL MATCHING
SHARE.
WE ARE ALSO MAKING PROGRESS IN
ANOTHER AREA. AS YOU ARE WELL AWARE, THE
CRIME CRISIS HAS CAUSED A VIRTUAL
BREAKDOWN OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN AMERICA.
NATIONWIDE OUR COURTS ARE CLOGGED WITH
CRIMINAL CASES, AND THE BACKLOG HAS GROWN
TO MOUNTAINOUS PROPORTIONS.
CONGRESS ON JUNE 2 CLEARED
LEGISLATION WHICH PROVIDES FOR 58 NEW
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
-12-
PERMANENT FEDERAL JUDGESHIPS AND THREE
TEMPORARY JUDGESHIPS. THIS SHOULD HELP
ELIMINATE SOME OF THE LARGE BACKLOG OF
PENDING FEDERAL CASES.
NATIONALLY THE BACKLOG OF
CRIMINAL CASES MORE THAN DOUBLED IN THE
LAST DECADE ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF CASES
FILED REMAINED RELATIVELY STABLE. THE
MAIN REASON WAS THE NEW EMPHASIS ON
RIGHTS OF DEFENDANTS, FLOWING FROM U.S.
SUPREME COURT DECISIONS. THIS LENGTHENED
THE TIME NEEDED TO HANDLE THE AVERAGE CASE.
I PERSONALLY AGREE WITH JUSTICE
HUGO L. BLACK THAT THE SUPREME COURT IN
THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS HAS HOBBLED LAW
ENFORCEMENT BY INSISTING UPON JUSTICE-
DEFEATING PROCEDURES WHICH UNDULY FAVOR
ACCUSED CRIMINALS.
WE MUST ATTACH FAR MORE IMPORTANCE
-13-
TO CONVICTING THE LAWBREAKER THAN TO
ASSISTING HIS EFFORTS TO "BEAT THE RAP."
FORTUNATELY THE TENOR OF
SUPREME COURT DECISIONS APPEARS TO BE
CHANGING FOR THE BETTER WITH THE CHANGED
MAKEUP OF THE COURT.
CRIME CONTROL IS A COMPLEX
AFFAIR. AS YOU VERY WELL KNOW, THE JOB
DOES NOT END WITH AN ARREST. WHAT IS
INVOLVED IS A HIGHLY COMPLICATED PROCESS,
INCLUDING PROSECUTION, TRIAL, SENTENCING
AND, HOPEFULLY, REHABILITATION IN PRISON.
UNDER OUR CONSTITUTION, THE
STATES ARE ASSIGNED THE PRIMARY ROLE IN
COMBATTING CRIME AND THAT IS ONE REASON I
AND OTHERS INSISTED UPON COMPREHENSIVE
STATE CRIME-FIGHTING PLANS IN CONNECTION
WITH THE 1968 LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE
ACT.
Ronglard
-14-
BUT ORGANIZED CRIME HAS A VAST
INTERSTATE SCOPE, AS YOU KNOW, AND SO
WASHINGTON HAS HAD TO TAKE A HARD NEW LOOK
AT ITS RESPONSIBILITIES.
WE THINK THE RESULTS ARE
BEGINNING TO SHOW. THERE ARE SOME
ENCOURAGING SIGNS. IN 1969, FOR INSTANCE,
THE RISE IN THE CRIME RATE NATIONWIDE WAS
11 PER CENT AS COMPARED WITH 17 PER CENT
IN 1968,
1970 - higher 1st 3 months.
violent crime - has
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DOES
HAVE A SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE
FIELDS OF ORGANIZED CRIME, ILLEGAL USE
OF NARCOTICS AND DANGEROUS DRUGS, AND THE
DISTRIBUTION OF PORNOGRAPHIC MATERIALS.
WE HAVE MADE GREAT PROGRESS IN
OUR EFFORTS TO MOVE AGAINST ORGANIZED
CRIME. YOU MAY RECALL THAT THE PRESIDENT
FORD
RECOMMENDED THE CREATION OF 20 STRIKE
is LIBRARY GERATE FRROES
-15-
OF PROSECUTORS AND INVESTIGATORS TO WAGE
ALL-OUT WAR AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME.
THIRTEEN OF THOSE STRIKE FORCES NOW ARE
ON DUTY AT STRATEGIC LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT
THE COUNTRY AND THE OTHER SEVEN WILL BE
ESTABLISHED SOON.
THERE HAS BEEN A MARKED UPTURN
IN INDICTMENTS AND PROSECUTIONS OF KEY
SYNDICATE FIGURES.
THE SUCCESS OF THESE FEDERAL
STRIKE FORCES PROMPTED THE PRESIDENT TO
CREATE THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON ORGANIZED
CRIME, AN ACTION TAKEN ON JUNE 4. THIS
COUNCIL, LED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,
WILL FORMULATE A COORDINATED NATIONAL
STRATEGY FOR SHARPLY STEPPED UP ATTACKS
ON ORGANIZED CRIME.
HOWEVER, THE PRESIDENT NEEDS THE
HELP OF CONGRESS TO MAKE HIS WAR AGAINST
LIBRARY
-16-
ORGANIZED CRIME TRULY EFFECTIVE -- AND
UNFORTUNATELY THE LEGISLATION THE
PRESIDENT NEEDS TO WAGE ALL-OUT WAR ON
CRIME IS STILL NOT LAW.
THE PRESIDENT LAST YEAR SENT
13 MAJOR ANTI-CRIME BILLS TO CONGRESS.
NOT ONE OF THEM HAS YET REACHED HIS DESK.
THE FAULT IS NOT IN THE U.S.
SENATE, ALTHOUGH I MUST NOTE THAT THE
SENATE HAS WEAKENED SOME OF THE
ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSALS. THE FAULT IS
WITH THE HOUSE, AND YOU KNOW WHO CONTROLS
THE HOUSE.
THE SENATE PASSED THE ORGANIZED
CRIME CONTROL BILL LAST JAN. 23. THE
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE BEGAN HEARINGS
ON IT MAY 20 -- 13 MONTHS AFTER THE
PRESIDENT SUBMITTED HIS RECOMMENDATIONS.
FORD
THE SENATE PASSED A COMPREHENSIVE
LIBRARY
-17-
DRUG CONTROL BILL LAST JANUARY 28 BUT
THAT BILL LAY ON THE SPEAKER'S DESK FOR
MORE THAN THREE MONTHS BECAUSE THE HOUSE
DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COULDN'T DECIDE
WHICH COMMITTEE OR COMMITTEES TO REFER IT
TO.
ON MAY 7, HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS
CHAIRMAN WILBUR MILLS AND SENIOR REPUBLICAN
JOHN BYRNES INTRODUCED A HOUSE DRUG CONTROL
BILL IDENTICAL WITH THE SENATE-APPROVED
BILL BUT NO HEARINGS HAVE BEEN HELD ON IT
YET.
WHILE THE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTE
OVER DRUG CONTROL LEGISLATION WAS GOING
ON IN THE HOUSE, THE INTERSTATE AND
White
FOREIGN COMMERCE COMMITTEE WORKED ON A
BILL DEALING WITH SO-CALLED SOFT DRUGS.
THAT BILL WILL GO BEFORE THE FULL
FORD
COMMITTEE SOON, SINCE SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVAL
LIBRARY
-18-
IS EXPECTED MOMENTARILY.
THE SENATE HAS PASSED ALL OF
THE MAJOR ANTI-CRIME LEGISLATION EXCEPT
THE OBSCENITY, PORNOGRAPHY AND BAIL
REFORM BILLS. THE HANGUP IS IN THE
HOUSE.
THERE IS NO MORE DISTURBING
PROBLEM BEFORE THIS NATION TODAY THAN
THE EVER-RISING CRIME RATE. I HAVE
CONTINUOUSLY URGED THAT THE HOUSE MOVE
FASTER TO PROVIDE NEW LEGISLATIVE TOOLS
TO HELP CLEAR THE CRIMINAL FROM OUR
STREETS.
I AM PARTICULARLY DISTURBED
THAT THE DRUG CONTROL BILL PASSED BY THE
SENATE WAS ALLOWED TO LANGUISH ON THE
SPEAKER'S DESK IN THE HOUSE FOR OVER
THREE MONTHS.
THERE IS A DIRECT CONNECTION
FORD is LIBRARY GERALD
-19-
BETWEEN DRUG ADDICTION AND STREET CRIMES
IN THIS COUNTRY. DRUG ADDICTS ACCOUNT
FOR 50 TO 75 PER CENT OF OUR STREET
CRIMES AS ADDICTS STEAL AND COMMIT
HOLDUPS TO FEED THEIR HABIT.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, JUVENILE
DELIQUENCY IS A KEY TO THE ASTOUNDING
INCREASE IN CRIME, NATIONWIDE. AND YOU
ALSO KNOW THAT THE MOST SHOCKING ASPECT
OF THE DRUG ABUSE EXPLOSION IN THIS
COUNTRY TODAY IS THE EXTENT TO WHICH
IT INVOLVES THE VERY YOUNG.
FOR THE YEAR 1968, THE LATEST
FIGURE WE HAVE, THE FBI'S UNIFORM CRIME
REPORTS INDICATE THAT 162,177 PERSONS
WERE ARRESTED BY STATE AND LOCAL
AUTHORITIES FOR NARCOTIC AND MARIJUANA
DRUG VIOLATIONS. OF THAT NUMBER,
43,200 WERE UNDER THE AGE OF 18, AND
GERALD R.FORD LIBRARY
-20-
6,243 WERE UNDER THE AGE OF 15 THE
AVERAGE AGE OF ALL THE DRUG VIOLATORS
WAS 21.
THE APPALLING FACT IS THAT
DRUG ABUSE ARRESTS OF JUVENILES, THOSE
18 AND UNDER INCREASED BY 1,860 PER CENT
THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS OF THE 1960s.
THE DRUG CONTROL BILL NOW
PENDING IN THE HOUSE -- IT HAS ALREADY
PASSED THE SENATE -- WOULD MAKE THE
SIMPLE POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA A
MISDEMEANOR ON THE FIRST OFFENSE. BUT A
SECOND OFFENSE WOULD BE JUDGED A FELONY.
I EXPECT THE HOUSE TO APPROVE
THIS BILL BECAUSE THE NEED FOR NEW
LEGISLATION TO DEAL WITH THE DRUG PROBLEM
IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED IN THE CONGRESS.
LET ME STRESS NOW THAT ALTHOUGH
THERE MIGHT NOT SEEM TO BE ANY CONNECTION,
LIBRARY
-21-
THE DRUG-RELATED STREET CRIMES I CITED
EARLIER ARE DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH
ORGANIZED CRIME. IT IS ORGANIZED CRIME
WHICH MAKES ILLEGAL NARCOTICS AVAILABLE
IN LARGE VOLUME IN THE UNITED STATES.
THEREFORE MUCH OF OUR STREET CRIME FLOWS
DIRECTLY FROM THE ACTIVITIES OF ORGANIZED
CRIME.
I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE
ARE MAKING PROGRESS IN THE WAR AGAINST
CRIME. THE RATE OF RISE DECREASED
ENCOURAGINGLY IN 1969 AND I BELIEVE WE
ARE MAKING ADDITIONAL GAINS THIS YEAR.
WHAT THIS TELLS US IS THAT THE
TASK IS NOT HOPELESS THE BATTLE IS NOT
IN VAIN.
WE MUST PERSIST IN THE FIGHT
AGAINST CRIME, AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
MUST JOIN THE CONGRESS AND ALL OF OUR
FORD i LIBRARY GERALD
-22-
STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
IN COMBATTING IT.
ALL OF OUR LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS
MUST BECOME CONCERNED. THEY MUST BECOME
INVOLVED. THERE IS NO ESCAPING
RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WAR AGAINST CRIME.
WE ARE ALL INVOLVED.
AS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE THE JOB
OF MAINTAINING LAW AND ORDER. I ASK THAT
THEY NOT BECOME DISCOURAGED BY THE
ENORMITY OF THE JOB.
I AM CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC
AS I LOOK DOWN THE ROAD.
I SEE DAYLIGHT
AHEAD.
THE PRESIDENT IS STRONGLY
COMMITTED TO THE CONTROL OF CRIME.
WASHINGTON IS PROVIDING DOLLAR
HELP AND, HOPEFULLY, OTHER MUCH-NEEDED
TOOLS AS WELL.
FORD & LIBRARY
-23-
THERE IS A COMMITMENT TO THE
WAR AGAINST CRIME AT ALL LEVELS OF
GOVERNMENT -- FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL.
AND THERE IS GREATER AND GREATER
SUPPORT EACH DAY ON THE PART OF ALL OF
OUR LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS.
WHAT WE MUST DO NOW IS TO
CONVINCE THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT IN AMERICA
THAT THERE IS "NO HIDING PLACE DOWN THERE"
AND THAT PUNISHMENT FOR THEIR CRIMES
AGAINST SOCIETY WILL BE SWIFT AND SURE.
I SAY WE CAN DO THAT. I SAY WE ARE ON OUR
WAY. I SAY
LET'S GET ON THE JOB.
-- END --
GERALD LIBRARY FORD
Distribution 10 copies Mr. Tad only m Office Copy
AN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BEFORE THE MICHIGAN SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION
AT THE PANTLIND HOTEL
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
7 P.M. TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1970
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I must say I have never felt so safe
before in all my life. There are thousands of pounds of law and order in this room.
In fact, there must be more security in this room than there is in the United States
Capitol when the President comes up to Capitol Hill to address a Joint Meeting of
Congress.
We are gathered here tonight because we are concerned about law and order--
we are concerned that this be a Nation of law and order with justice. This is one
of our national goals--law and order with justice.
Our national administration is moving this Nation toward three major
objectives--ending the Vietnam War, curbing inflation and controlling crime.
We are concerned here tonight primarily with the threat to our people that
stems from organized crime, crime in the streets, and the pervasive philosophy among
some of our young people that whatever you can get away with is all right.
I personally am concerned with seeing to it that Washington provides law
enforcement officers on the local scene with as much help as possible in doing their
job.
Our sheriffs need help. Crime has sent thousands of city residents scurrying
to the suburbs throughout Michigan. Crime threatens the future of businesses
locating in the suburbs. Crime makes older and younger Americans, alike, afraid to
venture out on shopping trips after dark. Crime is breeding such fear into our
people that they hesitate to go to the door when the doorbell rings at night.
My 1970 congressional questionnaire, which I sent to every home in Kent and
Ionia Counties, has produced concrete evidence of the deep concern of our people
about crime. The questionnaire showed that Kent and Ionia residents are more
concerned about crime than about any other problem facing the Nation. My question-
naire results also made clear that Kent and Ionia residents overwhelmingly favor
no-knock entry and preventive detention as weapons in a war against crime.
We in America are dedicated to progress. But no free nation can progress
GERADO FORD LIBRARY
(more)
-2-
when its people fear each other. Progress will not thrive in a garden of hate,
fear and mistrust.
The Congress is appropriating funds to fight crime, and so too are city
commissions and boards of supervisors. We are also promoting programs to attack
the root causes of crime. But our foremost priority must be a crackdown on the
criminals in our midst. This crackdown must be immediate and it must be massive.
If we must spend large additional sums of money for judges, prosecutors and
detention facilities, then let us start now. If we must recruit, train and equip
thousands of additional policemen and deputies to patrol our parks, streets,
buildings and other facilities, then let us get on with the job.
If bail and parole policies and punishment for repeat offenders need
toughening, all levels of government should immediately move in that direction.
I am calling for a crackdown. The crackdown I speak of is not a substitute
for education and anti-poverty programs which seek to eliminate the root causes of
crime. Federal outlays for education and related programs have risen from
$800 million in 1960 to nearly $10 billion in 1970--a more than 10-fold jump.
Federal aid to the poor has risen from $11.9 billion to $27.2 billion in just the
past six years, an increase of 130 per cent. For the Office of Economic Opportunity
alone, the cumulative total of spending from its inception through fiscal 1970 is
$8,278,000,000.
But while we attack the causes of crime, we cannot wait. We cannot wait the
generation or more that it will take for these programs to produce real results.
We cannot wait that long to protect the majority of law-abiding citizens in America
who are victimized by thugs every night.
The crackdown can be accomplished carefully--affording every suspect and
defendant his full rights as an accused under the Constitution. It can be
accomplished--it must be accomplished--without sacrificing any opportunity to try
to rehabilitate and educate convicted criminals to the law-abiding ways of society.
But it cannot be accomplished if we continue to free dangerous criminals on bail to
repeat major offenses. In short, it cannot be done without imposing severe
punishment on those committing serious crime.
The potential law-breaker must fear breaking the law as much as innocent
citizens today fear to exercise their right to move about freely in their
communities.
We are beginning the massive crackdown I have called for. The Administration
is waging an all-out war against crime with the tools it has at hand. The best
(more)
-3-
example of that is the nationwide narcotics raid last weekend which broke up a
10-city drug ring and resulted in the arrest of 135 persons and the seizure of
cocaine and heroin valued at more than $2.5 million. There is no question that the
raid was a smashing success, the greatest of its kind in the history of law
enforcement.
At the same time that we are fighting crime with the tools at our disposal,
the President has urged the Congress to provide more weapons against crime.
I am pleased to report to you tonight that it appears at least some of those
new anti-crime weapons will be forthcoming, although I must say that fires must be
lit under certain influential members of Congress if we are to get all of the
anti-crime ammunition we need.
First of all, let me emphasize that the funds now being made available to
the states and local areas under the 1968 Law Enforcement Assistance Act apparently
will be more than doubled in fiscal 1971 and will continue to rise sharply in the
following two fiscal years.
The House Judiciary Committee has reported out a Law Enforcement Assistance
Bill which would authorize block grants totalling $650 million for fiscal 1971 as
compared with an actual appropriation of $268 million in the current fiscal year.
For fiscal 1972 the authorization would be $1 billion, and for fiscal 1973 it
would be $1.5 billion.
However, authorization figures merely represent the limit beyond which
appropriations cannot go. Appropriations usually run considerably below
authorizations.
In fiscal 1969, for instance, the authorization for law enforcement
assistance was $100,111,000 but the actual appropriation was $59,106,180. For
fiscal 1970 the authorization was $300 million but the appropriation was
$268 million. For fiscal 1971 the appropriation voted by the House is $480 million
an action taken in the absence of an authorization bill.
Michigan is receiving an increasingly large slice of law enforcement
assistance funds. Our allocation has grown from $1,732,820 in fiscal 1969 to
$8,580,000 in fiscal 1970 and will climb to an estimated $15,521,000 in fiscal
1971.
The Law Enforcement Assistance Act just reported by the House Judiciary
Committee would put counties in an ideal situation. Counties would be required to
pay less in matching funds than under existing legislation and yet they would get
more than at present in Federal law enforcement assistance funds. The reasons for
(more)
-4-
this are a greatly increased Federal outlay plus a requirement that the states
put up 25 per cent of the local matching share.
We are also making progress in another area. As you are well aware, the
crime crisis has caused a virtual breakdown of criminal justice in America.
Nationwide our courts are clogged with criminal cases, and the backlog has grown
to mountainous proportions.
Congress on June 2 cleared legislation which provides for 58 new permanent
Federal judgeships and three temporary judgeships. This should help eliminate some
of the large backlog of pending Federal cases.
Nationally the backlog of criminal cases more than doubled in the last
decade although the number of cases filed remained relatively stable. The main
reason was the new emphasis on rights of defendants, flowing from U.S. Supreme
Court decisions. This lengthened the time needed to handle the average case.
I personally agree with Justice Hugo L. Black that the Supreme Court in the
last several years has hobbled law enforcement by insisting upon justice-defeating
procedures which unduly favor accused criminals.
We must attach far more importance to convicting the lawbreaker than to
assisting his efforts to "beat the rap. "
Fortunately the tenor of Supreme Court decisions appears to be changing for
the better with the changed makeup of the court.
Crime control is a complex affair. As you very well know, the job does not
end with an arrest. What is involved is a highly complicated process, including
prosecution, trial, sentencing and, hopefully, rehabilitation in prison.
Under our Constitution, the states are assigned the primary role in combatting
crime and that is one reason I and others insisted upon comprehensive state
crime-fighting plans in connection with the 1968 Law Enforcement Assistance Act.
But organized crime has a vast interstate scope, as you know, and so
Washington has had to take a hard new look at its responsibilities.
We think the results are beginning to show. There are some encouraging
signs. In 1969, for instance, the rise in the crime rate nationwide was 11 per cent
as compared with 17 per cent in 1968.
The Federal Government does have a special responsibility in the fields of
organized crime, illegal use of narcotics and dangerous drugs, and the distribution
of pornographic materials.
We have made great progress in our efforts to move against organized crime.
You may recall that the President recommended the creation of 20 Strike Forces
of
(more)
GERALD FORD
-5-
prosecutors and investigators to wage all-out war against organized crime. Thirteen
of those Strike Forces now are on duty at strategic locations throughout the country
and the other seven will be established soon.
There has been a marked upturn in indictments and prosecutions of key
syndicate figures.
The success of these Federal Strike Forces prompted the President to create
the National Council on Organized Crime, an action taken on June 4. This Council,
led by the Attorney General, will formulate a coordinated national strategy for
sharply stepped up attacks on organized crime.
However, the President needs the help of Congress to make his war against
organized crime truly effective--and unfortunately the legislation the President
needs to wage all-out war on crime is still not law.
The President last year sent 13 major anti-crime bills to Congress. Not one
of them has yet reached his desk.
The fault is not in the U.S. Senate, although I must note that the Senate
has weakened some of the Administration's proposals. The fault is with the House,
and you know who controls the House.
The Senate passed the organized crime control bill last Jan. 23. The House
Judiciary Committee began hearings on it May 20--13 months after the President
submitted his recommendations.
The Senate passed a comprehensive drug control bill last Jan. 28, but that
bill lay on the Speaker's desk for more than three months because the House
Democratic Leadership couldn't decide which committee or committees to refer it to.
On May 7, House Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills and Senior Republican
John Byrnes introduced a House drug control bill identical with the Senate-approved
bill but no hearings have been held on it yet.
While the jurisdictional dispute over drug control legislation was going
on in the House, the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee worked on a bill
dealing with sc-called soft drugs. That bill will go before the full committee
soon, since subcommittee approval is expected momentarily.
The Senate has passed all of the major anti-crime legislation except the
obscenity, pornography and bail reform bills. The hangup is in the House.
There is no more disturbing problem before this Nation today than the ever-
rising crime rate. I have continuously urged that the House move faster to provide
new legislative tools to help clear the criminal from our streets.
I am particularly disturbed that the drug control bill passed by the Senate
(more)
-6-
was allowed to languish on the Speaker's desk in the House for over three months.
There is a direct connection between drug addiction and street crimes in
this country. Drug addicts account for 50 to 75 per cent of our street crimes as
addicts steal and commit holdups to feed their habit.
As many of you know, juvenile deliquency is a key to the astounding increase
in crime, nationwide. And you also know that the most shocking aspect of the drug
abuse explosion in this country today is the extent to which it involves the very
young.
For the year 1968, the latest figure we have, the FBI's Uniform Crime
Reports indicate that 162,177 persons were arrested by State and local authorities
for narcotic and marijuana drug violations. Of that number, 43,200 were under the
age of 18, and 6,243 were under the age of 15. The average age of all the drug
violators was 21.
The appalling fact is that drug abuse arrests of juveniles, those 18 and
under, increased by 1,860 per cent the first eight years of the 1960s.
The drug control bill now pending in the House--it has already passed the
Senate-would make the simple possession of marijuana a misdemeanor on the first
offense. But a second offense would be judged a felony.
I expect the House to approve this bill because the need for new legislation
to deal with the drug problem is widely recognized in the Congress.
Let me stress now that although there might not seem to be any connection,
the drug-related street crimes I cited earlier are directly associated with
organized crime. It is organized crime which makes illegal narcotics available in
large volume in the United States. Therefore much of our street crime flows
directly from the activities of organized crime.
I mentioned earlier that we are making progress in the war against crime.
The rate of rise decreased encouragingly in 1969 and I believe we are making addition
gains this year.
What this tells us is that the task is not hopeless, the battle is not in
vain.
We must persist in the fight against crime, and the American people must
join the Congress
combatting it.
All of our law-abiding citizens must become concerned. They must become
All of our law-abiding citizens must become concerned. They must become
involved. There is no escaping responsibility in the against crime. We are
all involved.
-6-
was allowed to languish on the Speaker's desk in the House for over three months.
There is a direct connection between drug addiction and street crimes in
this country. Drug addicts account for 50 to 75 per cent of our street crimes as
addicts steal and commit holdups to feed their habit.
As many of you know, juvenile deliquency is a key to the astounding increase
in crime, nationwide. And you also know that the most shocking aspect of the drug
abuse explosion in this country today is the extent to which it involves the very
young.
For the year 1968, the latest figure we have, the FBI's Uniform Crime
Reports indicate that 162,177 persons were arrested by State and local authorities
for narcotic and marijuana drug violations. Of that number, 43,200 were under the
age of 18, and 6,243 were under the age of 15. The average age of all the drug
violators was 21.
The appalling fact is that drug abuse arrests of juveniles, those 18 and
under, increased by 1,860 per cent the first eight years of the 1960s.
The drug control bill now pending in the House--it has already passed the
Senate-would make the simple possession of marijuana a misdemeanor on the first
offense. But a second offense would be judged a felony.
I expect the House to approve this bill because the need for new legislation
to deal with the drug problem is widely recognized in the Congress.
Let me stress now that although there might not seem to be any connection,
the drug-related street crimes I cited earlier are directly associated with
organized crime. It is organized crime which makes illegal narcotics available in
large volume in the United States. Therefore much of our street crime flows
directly from the activities of organized crime.
I mentioned earlier that we are making progress in the war against crime.
The rate of rise decreased encouragingly in 1969 and I believe we are making addition
gains this year.
What this tells us is that the task is not hopeless, the battle is not in
vain.
We must persist in the fight against crime, and the American people must
join the Congress and all of our state and local law enforcement agencies in
combatting it.
All of our law-abiding citizens must become concerned. They must become
involved. There is no escaping responsibility in the war against crime. We are
all involved.
(more)
-7-
As for those who have the job of maintaining law and order. I ask that they
not become discouraged by the enormity of the job.
I am cautiously optimistic as I look down the road. I see daylight ahead.
The President is strongly committed to the control of crime.
Washington is providing dollar help and, hopefully, other much-needed tools
as well.
There is a commitment to the war against crime at all levels of government--
Federal, state and local.
And there is greater and greater support each day on the part of all of our
law-abiding citizens.
What we must do now is to convince the criminal element in America that
there is "no hiding place down there" and that punishment for their crimes against
society will be swift and sure. I say we can do that. I say we are on our way.
I say
let's get on with the job.
# # #
GERALD FORD LIBRANI
10 copies to Ms. Ford only
I Office Copy
AN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R--MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BEFORE THE MICHIGAN SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION
AT THE PANTLIND HOTEL
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
7 P.M. TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1970
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I must say I have never felt so safe
before in all my life. There are thousands of pounds of law and order in this room.
In fact, there must be more security in this room than there is in the United States
Capitol when the President comes up to Capitol Hill to address a Joint Meeting of
Congress.
We are gathered here tonight because we are concerned about law and order--
we are concerned that this be a Nation of law and order with justice. This is one
of our national goals--law and order with justice.
Our national administration is moving this Nation toward three major
objectives--ending the Vietnam War, curbing inflation and controlling crime.
We are concerned here tonight primarily with the threat to our people that
stems from organized crime, crime in the streets, and the pervasive philosophy among
some of our young people that whatever you can get away with is all right.
I personally am concerned with seeing to it that Washington provides law
enforcement officers on the local scene with as much help as possible in doing their
job.
Our sheriffs need help. Crime has sent thousands of city residents scurrying
to the suburbs throughout Michigan. Crime threatens the future of businesses
locating in the suburbs. Crime makes older and younger Americans, alike, afraid to
venture out on shopping trips after dark. Crime is breeding such fear into our
people that they hesitate to go to the door when the doorbell rings at night.
My 1970 congressional questionnaire, which I sent to every home in Kent and
Ionia Counties, has produced concrete evidence of the deep concern of our people
about crime. The questionnaire showed that Kent and Ionia residents are more
concerned about crime than about any other problem facing the Nation. My question-
naire results also made clear that Kent and Ionia residents overwhelmingly favor
no-knock entry and preventive detention as weapons in a war against crime.
We in America are dedicated to progress. But no free nation can progress
FORD JOHARY
(more)
-2-
when its people fear each other. Progress will not thrive in a garden of hate,
fear and mistrust.
The Congress is appropriating funds to fight crime, and so too are city
commissions and boards of supervisors. We are also promoting programs to attack
the root causes of crime. But our foremost priority must be a crackdown on the
criminals in our midst. This crackdown must be immediate and it must be massive.
If we must spend large additional sums of money for judges, prosecutors and
detention facilities, then let us start now. If we must recruit, train and equip
thousands of additional policemen and deputies to patrol our parks, streets,
buildings and other facilities, then let us get on with the job.
If bail and parole policies and punishment for repeat offenders need
toughening, all levels of government should immediately move in that direction.
I am calling for a crackdown. The crackdown I speak of is not a substitute
for education and anti-poverty programs which seek to eliminate the root causes of
crime. Federal outlays for education and related programs have risen from
$800 million in 1960 to nearly $10 billion in 1970--a more than 10-fold jump.
Federal aid to the poor has risen from $11.9 billion to $27.2 billion in just the
past six years, an increase of 130 per cent. For the Office of Economic Opportunity
alone, the cumulative total of spending from its inception through fiscal 1970 is
$8,278,000,000.
But while we attack the causes of crime, we cannot wait. We cannot wait the
generation or more that it will take for these programs to produce real results.
We cannot wait that long to protect the majority of law-abiding citizens in America
who are victimized by thugs every night.
The crackdown can be accomplished carefully--affording every suspect and
defendant his full rights as an accused under the Constitution. It can be
accomplished--it must be accomplished--without sacrificing any opportunity to try
to rehabilitate and educate convicted criminals to the law-abiding ways of society.
But it cannot be accomplished if we continue to free dangerous criminals on bail to
repeat major offenses. In short, it cannot be done without imposing severe
punishment on those committing serious crime.
The potential law-breaker must fear breaking the law as much as innocent
citizens today fear to exercise their right to move about freely in their
communities.
We are beginning the massive crackdown I have called for. The Administration
is waging an all-out war against crime with the tools it has at hand. The best
(more)
-3-
example of that is the nationwide narcotics raid last weekend which broke up a
10-city drug ring and resulted in the arrest of 135 persons and the seizure of
cocaine and heroin valued at more than $2.5 million. There is no question that the
raid was a smashing success, the greatest of its kind in the history of law
enforcement.
At the same time that we are fighting crime with the tools at our disposal,
the President has urged the Congress to provide more weapons against crime.
I am pleased to report to you tonight that it appears at least some of those
new anti-crime weapons will be forthcoming, although I must say that fires must be
lit under certain influential members of Congress if we are to get all of the
anti-crime ammunition we need.
First of all, let me emphasize that the funds now being made available to
the states and local areas under the 1968 Law Enforcement Assistance Act apparently
will be more than doubled in fiscal 1971 and will continue to rise sharply in the
following two fiscal years.
The House Judiciary Committee has reported out a Law Enforcement Assistance
Bill which would authorize block grants totalling $650 million for fiscal 1971 as
compared with an actual appropriation of $268 million in the current fiscal year.
For fiscal 1972 the authorization would be $1 billion, and for fiscal 1973 it
would be $1.5 billion.
However, authorization figures merely represent the limit beyond which
appropriations cannot go. Appropriations usually run considerably below
authorizations.
In fiscal 1969, for instance, the authorization for law enforcement
assistance was $100,111,000 but the actual appropriation was $59,106,180. For
fiscal 1970 the authorization was $300 million but the appropriation was
$268 million. For fiscal 1971 the appropriation voted by the House is $480 million
an action taken in the absence of an authorization bill.
Michigan is receiving an increasingly large slice of law enforcement
assistance funds. Our allocation has grown from $1,732,820 in fiscal 1969 to
$8,580,000 in fiscal 1970 and will climb to an estimated $15,521,000 in fiscal
1971.
The Law Enforcement Assistance Act just reported by the House Judiciary
Committee would put counties in an ideal situation. Counties would be required to
pay less in matching funds than under existing legislation and yet they would get
more than at present in Federal law enforcement assistance funds. The reasons for
(more)
-4-
this are a greatly increased Federal outlay plus a requirement that the states
put up 25 per cent of the local matching share.
We are also making progress in another area. As you are well aware, the
crime crisis has caused a virtual breakdown of criminal justice in America.
Nationwide our courts are clogged with criminal cases, and the backlog has grown
to mountainous proportions.
Congress on June 2 cleared legislation which provides for 58 new permanent
Federal judgeships and three temporary judgeships. This should help eliminate some
of the large backlog of pending Federal cases.
Nationally the backlog of criminal cases more than doubled in the last
decade although the number of cases filed remained relatively stable. The main
reason was the new emphasis on rights of defendants, flowing from U.S. Supreme
Court decisions. This lengthened the time needed to handle the average case.
I personally agree with Justice Hugo L. Black that the Supreme Court in the
last several years has hobbled law enforcement by insisting upon justice-defeating
procedures which unduly favor accused criminals.
We must attach far more importance to convicting the lawbreaker than to
assisting his efforts to "beat the rap."
Fortunately the tenor of Supreme Court decisions appears to be changing for
the better with the changed makeup of the court.
Crime control is a complex affair. As you very well know, the job does not
end with an arrest. What is involved is a highly complicated process, including
prosecution, trial, sentencing and, hopefully, rehabilitation in prison.
Under our Constitution, the states are assigned the primary role in combatting
crime and that is one reason I and others insisted upon comprehensive state
crime-fighting plans in connection with the 1968 Law Enforcement Assistance Act.
But organized crime has a vast interstate scope, as you know, and so
Washington has had to take a hard new look at its responsibilities.
We think the results are beginning to show. There are some encouraging
signs. In 1969, for instance, the rise in the crime rate nationwide was 11 per cent
as compared with 17 per cent in 1968.
The Federal Government does have a special responsibility in the fields of
organized crime, illegal use of narcotics and dangerous drugs, and the distribution
of pornographic materials.
We have made great progress in our efforts to move against organized crime.
You may recall that the President recommended the creation of 20 Strike Forces
of FORS
(more)
-5-
prosecutors and investigators to wage all-out war against organized crime. Thirteen
of those Strike Forces now are on duty at strategic locations throughout the country
and the other seven will be established soon.
There has been a marked upturn in indictments and prosecutions of key
syndicate figures.
The success of these Federal Strike Forces prompted the President to create
the National Council on Organized Crime, an action taken on June 4. This Council,
led by the Attorney General, will formulate a coordinated national strategy for
sharply stepped up attacks on organized crime.
However, the President needs the help of Congress to make his war against
organized crime truly effective--and unfortunately the legislation the President
needs to wage all-out war on crime is still not law.
The President last year sent 13 major anti-crime bills to Congress. Not one
of them has yet reached his desk.
The fault is not in the U.S. Senate, although I must note that the Senate
has weakened some of the Administration's proposals. The fault is with the House,
and you know who controls the House.
The Senate passed the organized crime control bill last Jan. 23. The House
Judiciary Committee began hearings on it May 20--13 months after the President
submitted his recommendations.
The Senate passed a comprehensive drug control bill last Jan. 28, but that
bill lay on the Speaker's desk for more than three months because the House
Democratic Leadership couldn't decide which committee or committees to refer it to.
On May 7, House Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills and Senior Republican
John Byrnes introduced a House drug control bill identical with the Senate-approved
bill but no hearings have been held on it yet.
While the jurisdictional dispute over drug control legislation was going
on in the House, the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee worked on a bill
dealing with sc-called soft drugs. That bill will go before the full committee
soon, since subcommittee approval is expected momentarily.
The Senate has passed all of the major anti-crime legislation except the
obscenity, pornography and bail reform bills. The hangup is in the House.
There is no more disturbing problem before this Nation today than the ever-
rising crime rate. I have continuously urged that the House move faster to provide
new legislative tools to help clear the criminal from our streets.
I am particularly disturbed that the drug control bill passed by the Senate
(more)
-6-
was allowed to languish on the Speaker's desk in the House for over three months.
There is a direct connection between drug addiction and street crimes in
this country. Drug addicts account for 50 to 75 per cent of our street crimes as
addicts steal and commit holdups to feed their habit.
As many of you know, juvenile deliquency is a key to the astounding increase
in crime, nationwide. And you also know that the most shocking aspect of the drug
abuse explosion in this country today is the extent to which it involves the very
young.
For the year 1968, the latest figure we have, the FBI's Uniform Crime
Reports indicate that 162,177 persons were arrested by State and local authorities
for narcotic and marijuana drug violations. Of that number, 43,200 were under the
age of 18, and 6,243 were under the age of 15. The average age of all the drug
violators was 21.
The appalling fact is that drug abuse arrests of juveniles, those 18 and
under, increased by 1,860 per cent the first eight years of the 1960s.
The drug control bill now pending in the House--it has already passed the
Senate-would make the simple possession of marijuana a misdemeanor on the first
offense. But a second offense would be judged a felony.
I expect the House to approve this bill because the need for new legislation
to deal with the drug problem is widely recognized in the Congress.
Let me stress now that although there might not seem to be any connection,
the drug-related street crimes I cited earlier are directly associated with
organized crime. It is organized crime which makes illegal narcotics available in
large volume in the United States. Therefore much of our street crime flows
directly from the activities of organized crime.
I mentioned earlier that we are making progress in the war against crime.
The rate of rise decreased encouragingly in 1969 and I believe we are making addition
gains this year.
What this tells us is that the task is not hopeless, the battle is not in
vain.
We must persist in the fight against crime, and the American people must
join the Congress and all of our state and local law enforcement agencies in
combatting it.
All of our law-abiding citizens must become concerned. They must become
involved. There is no escaping responsibility in the war against crime. We are
all involved.
(more)
-7-
As for those who have the job of maintaining law and order. I ask that they
not become discouraged by the enormity of the job.
I am cautiously optimistic as I look down the road. I see daylight ahead.
The President is strongly committed to the control of crime.
Washington is providing dollar help and, hopefully, other much-needed tools
as well.
There is a commitment to the war against crime at all levels of government--
Federal, state and local.
And there is greater and greater support each day on the part of all of our
law-abiding citizens.
What we must do now is to convince the criminal element in America that
there is "no hiding place down there" and that punishment for their crimes against
society will be swift and sure. I say we can do that. I say we are on our way.
I say
let's get on with the job.
# # #