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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release May 19, 1998

                     VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES 
                 NEW EFFORT TO PROVIDE HIGH-TECH TOOLS 
                          TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

            DOE Tapped to Lend Science, Tech, R&D Assistance

Washington, DC -- Vice President Gore today announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) will work with the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Treasury to give law enforcement new cutting-edge technologies to help combat crime.

"If we're going to fight the criminals of the future, we need to develop the crime fighting tools of the future," Vice President Gore said. "We must put the best possible tools in the hands of our law enforcement community so they can identify, apprehend, and prosecute criminals -- swiftly and effectively."

Joined by Energy Secretary Federico Pena, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Attorney General Janet Reno and state and local law enforcement representatives, the Vice President announced a "Partnership for a Safer America" at a demonstration of cutting-edge crime fighting technology including:

         Oak Ridge National Laboratory's image analysis and video
         enhancement technologies used to isolate the gun flare 
         in a convenience store shooting videotape which resulted 
         in a murder conviction.

         Hand-held geographic positioning devices that can record 
         video, store voice notes and help agents visually 
         reconstruct crime scenes.

Pena added, "Crime is becoming increasingly high-tech -- from Internet predators to sophisticated bomb builders. But today, we have a message to criminals, `Beware, because we are going to come after you with technologies you've never seen before.?"

The Vice President announced that two DOE Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) were signed with the FBI and with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). Under them, DOE will establish formal working relationships to facilitate the transfer of technology and technical expertise to law enforcement. A Statement of Principles has been prepared between DOE, DOJ, and Treasury to coordinate and facilitate the technical advancement of crime fighting in this country.

In support of the Statement of Principles, DOE has selected for further collaborative development (with the advice of the FBI and ATF) representative technologies from seven DOE national laboratories. These technologies are core DOE competencies that will provide future forensic and crime scene investigation tools as well as examples of actual DOE laboratory technology or expertise being used by law enforcement.

In addition to the MOUs with Federal law enforcement, DOE has a longstanding relationship supplying technologies to U.S. intelligence agencies and the Defense Department. There are existing MOUs between DOE and Treasury's Customs Service and between DOE and DOJ's National Institute of Justice. Additional partnerships are possible in the future under the umbrella agreement.

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