THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                            (Athens, Greece)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  November 21, 1999

                  ** Radio Actuality Line Advisory **

WASHINGTON - Sound from the Attorney General's remarks are available on the White House Radio Actuality Line at 202/456-5671. For further information, please contact the Department of Justice at www.usdoj.gov or 202/514-2007.

                 Remarks by Attorney General Janet Reno
                      on the latest crime figures

     ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO:  I am pleased to report that crime is now

down for seven-and-a-half years in a row. During the first half of 1999, crime declined again - in all areas of the nation and in all categories of crime.

According to the FBI, crime in 1998 reached its lowest level in a generation. Now according to their preliminary numbers for 1999, there were 10% fewer serious crimes reported in the first half of this year than during the same period in 1998. And murder was down most of all, a total of 13%.

The falling crime rate is an indicator that we're doing the right things and that we must keep at it. This Administration has made grants to fund more than 100,000 new police through the landmark COPS program. We secured passage of the Brady law, which has kept more than 400,000 guns away from felons, fugitives and others who should not have them. And, in cooperation with our state and local partners, we have steadily increased the number of nationwide gun prosecutions.

But we cannot become complacent, because crime statistics translate into real people and real victims. We need to do all that we can to continue reducing crime even further.

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