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Remarks of the President to the California State Legislature, California State Capitol [Ford Speech or Statement]
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Remarks of the President to the California State Legislature, California State Capitol [Ford Speech or Statement]
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Digitized from Box 15 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 5, 1975
OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY
(Sacramento, California)
THE WHITE HOUSE
REMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT
TO THE
CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATURE
CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL
11:33 A.M. PDT
Governor Brown, Mr. Speaker, Mr. President,
members of the State Legislature, distinguished guests,
ladies and gentlemen:
It is indeed an honor to come before the
California Legislature. You represent mòre Americans
than any other legislative body, except the Congress of
the United States, with which I have had some
acquaintance over a good many years.
Almost half of California's delegation in the
current Congress are alumnis of this legislature. I
cannot take time to salute all of them by name, but
from veterans like the able Majority Whip, John McFall,
to respected newcomers like Bob Lagomarsino, they are
really an outstanding group.
In 25 years that I served in the Congress, I
made many friendships with former State Senators and
assemblymen from Sacramento whose constituents have con-
sistently sent them back to Washington.
Although they represent a wide spectrum of
political persuasions and interests, they were almost
without exception able, hard working legislators who
quickly reached positions of great importance and great
influence in the House of Representatives, where they
could make California's voice heard and, believe me,
they did.
As a delegation that is now the largest in
the Congress, Californians were often able to temporarily
put partisanship aside on matters of great concern to
your State as well as to our Nation.
This, after all, is the way our two-party
system works at its best. I, long ago, came to admire
California legislators from afar, and I thank you very,
very sincerely for this opportunity to meet in this
historic chamber.
MORE
Page 2
Since California is almost a model of the whole
United States, in its diversity of industry and agriculture,
its urban and rural interests, its internal and inter-
national trade and commerce, its steady growth and the
attendant challenges in transportation, education, employ-
ment and human needs, almost any national problem would
be an appropriate one to discuss in California context.
Any subject that is of major importance to
Californians is also of deep concern to all Americans.
In the 13 months I served as President of all of
the people, my priority goals have been set by the circum-
stances which confronted our Nation, and still do: To
work steadily and prudently toward peace and the reduction
of conflicts which threaten peace globally or regionally
without weakening either our defense or our resolve;
to reverse the current recession and to revive our free
economic system without reigniting, the inflationary
forces, and through such Federal stimulants and incentives
as will create productivity and permanent private jobs
and genuine economic growth; to develop a comprehensive short-
and long-term program to end our growing dependence on foreign
sources of energy and provide the abundant and sure energy
supply that is essential both for jobs and to competitive
production for the future; and finally, but certainly not
least, to encourage among all Americans a greater spirit
of conciliation, cooperation and confidence in the future
of this great country and the institutions of self-
government which for 200 years have served to create a
more perfect union.
Today, I could devote my time to any one of these
goals because all are of concern in Sacramento, as well
as in Washington. California has a very vital stake in
peace and the important breakthrough we have just made in
diffusing the time bomb that has been ticking away
ominously in the Middle East.
California is blessed above many, many States
when it comes to energy resources. But by the same
token, Californians are exceptionally aware of the
importance of power to make things move, to make things
grow.
I have decided, however, to discuss with you
today another subject on my agenda, one that affects
every omerican and every Californian, one in which the
role and the responsibility of State officials is even
greater than that of the Federal establishment; that is,
the truly alarming increase in violent crime throughout
this country.
Crime is a threat so dangerous and so stubborn
that I am convinced it can be brought under control only
by the best concerted efforts of all levels of Government,
Federal, State and local, by the closest cooperation among
Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches, and by
the abandonment of partisanship on a scale comparable to
closing the ranks in wartime against an external enemy.
MORE
Page 3
I come to California not only to plead for
this kind of Federal, State and local citizen coalition
against crime, but to praise the progress you have
already begun in California.
California has long been a leader in both law
enforcement and criminal justice. The rate of increase
in violent crimes here remains less than the national
average. For the first quarter of this year, serious
crime rose 18 percent for the Nation as a whole.
It rose only 13 percent in California, but both figures,
I am sure we agree, are far, far too high.
MORE
Page 4
The rate for forcible rape was down, but murder
was up 22 percent in California and robbery up 23 percent.
What is more distressing, my good friend, Evelle Younger,
tells INC that nearly four out of every ten persons
convicted of using firearms to kill someone,
or to rob someone, were given probation. Approximately
2300 persons convicted of violent crimes involving
firearms are returned to the streets of California each
year without serving a prison sentence.
Clearly, the billions of dollars spent at
all levels of Government since 1960 have not done the job
of stemming the rise in crime. The reported crime rate
has doubled, and unreported crimes have probably
multiplied even more.
As a former lawmaker among active lawmakers, let
me put before you three simple propositions about crime.
First, a primary duty of Government is to protect the
law-abiding citizens in his peaceful pursuits of life,
liberty and happiness.
The Preamble to our Constitution at the Federal
level puts the obligation to insure domestic tranquility
in the same category as providing for the common defense
against foreign foes.
The American Revolution was unique in its
devotion to the rule of law. We overthrew our rulers
but cherished their rules. The founding fathers were
dedicated to John Locke's dictum that "Where there is no
law, there is no freedom." One of them, James Madison,
added his own corollary, "If men were angels, no govern-
ment would be necessary."
While it is true that not all men nor
all women are angels, it is also true that the vast
majority of Americans are law-abiding. In one study of
ten thousand males born in 1945, it was shown that only
6 percent of them perpetrated two-thirds of all crimes
committed by the entire sample.
As for serious crimes, most are committed by
repeaters. Another study in a major metropolitan area
showed that within a single year, more than two hundred
burglaries, 60 rapes and 14 murders were the work of
only ten individual criminals.
This brings me to my second proposition. If
a primary duty of Government is to insure the domestic
tranquility of the law-abiding majority, should we not put
as much emphasis on the rights of the innocent victim
as we do on the rights of the accused violators?
I am not suggesting that due process should be
ignored or the legal rights of defendents be reduced.
I am not urging a vindictive attitude toward convicted
offenders. I am saying that, as a matter of public
policy, the time has come to give equal weight on the
scale of justice to the rights of the innocent victims
of crimes of terror and violence.
MORE
Page 5
Victims are my primary concern and I am sure
that is your primary concern. They should be the concern
of all of us who have a role in making or executing or
enforcing or interpreting the criminal law, Federal,
State or local. The vast majority of victims of violent
crime in this country are the poor, the old, the very
young, the disadvantaged minorities, the people who
crowd our urban centers, the most defenseless of our
fellow citizens.
Government should deal equally with all citizens
but if it must tilt a little to protect any element
more than any other, surely it should be those who cannot
afford to be robbed of a day's food money, those who
lack the strength to resist, those who even fear the
the C sequences of complaining.
My third proposition is this: If most serious
crimes are committed by repeaters, most violent crimes
by criminals carrying guns, if the tiny majority of
habitual lawmakers can be identified by modern data-
keeping methods, then is it not mandatory that such
offenders, duly tried and convicted, be removed from
society for a definite period of time rather than
returning to the streets to continue to prey on the
innocent and the law-abiding majority.
Although only a very limited number of violent
crimes fall under Federal jurisdiction, I have urged the
Congress to set an example by providing for mandatory
prison terms for convicted offenders in such extra-
ordinarily serious crimes as aircraft hijacking, kid-
napping and trafficking in hard drugs. I also advocate
mandatory sentences for persons found guilty of crimes
involving use of dangerous weapons, and for repeat offenders,
with OF without a weapon, whose crimes show a potential or
actual cause of physical injury. There will, of course,
be sensible exception but they must be minimal.
I hope all 50 States will follow suit. Far
too many violent and repetitive criminals never spend a
day in prison after conviction. Mandatory sentences need
not be severe. It is the certainty of confinement that
is presently lacking. We will never deter crime, nor
reduce its growth if potential lawmakers feel they have
favorable odds of escaping punishment.
The more experienced in crime they get, the better
their odds of not suffering the consequences. That is
wrong and it must be reversed, and the quicker, the
better.
The temptation to politicians -- and I
trust we are all politicians here, and proud of it -- I am --
is to call for a massive crackdown on crime and to advocate
throwing every convicted felon in jail and throwing the
key away.
MORE
Page 6
We have heard such cries for years and crime
continues to gain on us. The problem is infinitely
more complex than any updated vigilante mentality can
cope with. We have to confess, you and I, that we do not
know all of the answers. But as with other stubborn
national problems, my philosophy is that we must take
one sure step at a time.
It is simply intolerable to stand still or
slip backwards. It is simply impossible to devise a
swift cure-all or a quick fix.
In a talk to my alma mater and to yours,
Mr. Governor, the Yale Law School, last April, and again
in a detailed message to the Congress in June, I outlined
the first steps which I believe must be taken to get
a handle on the rising crime rates. I will not rehash
these points today, except to thank the California
Legislature for moving somewhat faster than Congress
has on some of my recommendations, such as mandatory
prison sentences for crimes involving firearms and hard
drug pushing.
I told the Congress, not as a cop-out, but
as a Constitutional fact of life, that the Federal effort
in the fight against crime really depends on the
massive support from the States -- which quite properly
have sole jurisdiction in the exercise of most police
powers.
I said the Federal Government could, however,
set an example to reform of the Federal Criminal Code,
which is progressing, and through the Law Enforcement
Assistance Administration and other programs including
general revenue sharing.
I want to give it to you straight about these
programs. They were pushed by the minority in the
Congress during the Johnson Administration and I am
somewhat proud of my association with the innovative
Federal measures and the proof that if an idea is good
enough, it can prevail even if the minority espouses it.
I have asked the Congress to extend
general revenue sharing, which expires at the end of next
year. Under it, California has received about ten percent
of the total Federal funds turned back to the States and
to subdivisions.
California's share now adds up to more than $2 billion
and will be closer to $3 billion by the expiration date.
MORE
Page 7
This is money that you in California are
relatively free to use where you think California needs
it most.
Frankly, the Congress isn't too happy about such
liberty on your part and would rather tell you how they
want it spent. I leave it to your good judgment to help
us continue this program for another five years. I
have recommended that it be extended for a five-year
period, and with added money on an annual basis.
I should say, and, in fact, warn you, there
are many enemies in the Congress who don't want it
extended and the consequence is there is an unfortunate
delay. And I detect that there is a feeling of complacency
on the part of Governors, State Legislators, Mayors
and county officials. I warn you, all of those who
have received these funds and used them effectively --
and I think you have -- get moving, because the enemies
are working and I don't detect the proponents are
pushing.
Don't get caught napping when that expiration
date comes up much more quickly than you suspect it might.
As for LEAA, I must say candidly that it hasn't
done as much to help curb the rising crime statistics as
we had hoped. But it has encouraged experimentation
and pilot projects in law enforcement and criminal
justice which, if they work, can be adopted by other
States. Some of the outstanding ones have been funded
for California's own Department of Justice dealing with
organized crime and criminal intelligence and to
Sacramento and San Diego counties for programs on juvenile
delinquency, white collar crime, fraud, drugs and career
criminals.
The drug problem in America could make several
speeches by itself. Here, again, we have a small
number of deliberate criminals who destroy the domestic
tranquility of millions and millions of decent citizens.
What is particularly outrageous is the tragedy they
bring to young people who should be learning to face
life, not run from it.
MORE
Page 8
Here in California, according to the lastest
figures I have seen, less than one out of every five
convicted hard drug pusher ever served time in prison.
One way to keep a convicted murderer from killing any-
body else, one to keep a hard drug pusher from ruining
any more lives, is to lock them up for a reasonable
but certain term of imprisonment.
Loss of Liberty is both a deterrent to crime
and a prevention of repeated crime, at least while the
defendant is behind bars. Prisoners should be treated
humanely, and we cannot expect judges, Mr. Chief Justice,
and juries, to convict and sentence persons to places
of confinement that are cruel and degrading.
But I consider it essential that we reduce
delay in bringing arrested persons to trial, sharply
limit the prevailing practice of plea bargaining caused
by congested prosecutor and court calendars, and
significantly an increasing proportion of those convicted
of violent crimes and repeated crimes who actually serve
time in prison.
I commend the State of California for its
ongoing efforts in these areas, as well as for your
program, or programs, to prevent juvenile crime and to
rehabilitate youthful first-time offenders.
One of the worst aspects in the current rise in
crime rates has been that almost half of all arrests are
persons under 18 years of age. While imprisonment is
clearly the way to put hardened criminals out of business
for a period of time, it is obviously not the best way
to deal with the very young.
Simply sending them home has not proved a
satisfactory solution, either. We do not have all the
answers, but we must spare no efforts to find them
quickly.
The Federal Department of Justice has embarked
on an urgent pilot program to divert first offenders and,
in appropriate cases, prevent them acquiring the lifelong
stigma of a criminal record.
Another aspect of the crime program that I have
submitted, I asked the Congress to write into the revised
Federal criminal code the stronger provisions to allow
Federal action against organized crime, wherever it rears
its ugly head.
The leaders of organized crime do not recognize
State or, for that matter, national boundaries. It will
take all of our law enforcement resources to fight this
giant conspiracy against domestic tranquility and
prevent its spread.
MORE
Page 9
Like other vexing problems facing California
and the Nation, we will not conquer crime with a single
roll call or a stroke of the Governor's or President's
pen. But, we must do what we can and we must work
together here and now for the sake of our children and
our grandchildren.
It was really for this reason that I wanted
to discuss crime today and the common front that we must
create against it. Peace in our neighborhoods and places
of business is almost as important as peace in the world.
Keeping the peace is as heroic and essential
on the part of those policemen and policewomen who work
the night shift as it is on the part of our military
personnel and civilian technicians standing watch around
the world.
The courage and devotion of some for :the
safety and survival of all have brought us through 200
years as a Nation, and it will carry us forward to an
even brighter future.
Nowhere is the community of interest and the
necessity of close collaboration between the Federal
Government and the States of the Union more obvious than
in the field of crime control.
There is no more universal longing among our
people than to be free of fear and safe in their homes
and in their livelihoods.
There is no issue even, in a spirited campaign
year already beginning, in which we would seek to serve
the people, can work harder without partisanship or without
demagoguery, to bring about visible progress.
I have not brought along any patent medicine that
cures all human ills to peddle here in California. I
have come simply to pledge to you my unrelenting efforts
to reduce crime in cooperation and consultation with you
and with all who have America at heart.
In moving against crime, with compassion for
the victims and evenhanded justice for the violator,
California can be the pace setter for the Nation, as you
have beenin so many other challenges.
The genius of California has enriched all
America beyond the wildest expectation of our goal-
seeking ancestors. But, I am not here to sing, "I love
you California," either. I will save that for future
visits, and I hope there will be many, because I love
your people.
MORE
Page 10
For today, it is enough to ask your help on
this complex but fundamental problem that confronts us
all. If we fail to insure domestic tranquility, any
other successes we may have as public officials will
be forgotten.
Peace on 10th Street in Sacramento is as
important to the people who walk and work there as peace
in the Sinai Desert.
One man or woman, or child, becomes just as
dead from a switchblade slash as from a nuclear missile
blast. We must prevent both.
Thank you very much.
END
(AT 12:05 P.M. PDT)