Violent crime remains at intolerably high levels. Gang violence is spreading across the country, and juveniles are committing more and more serious crimes. Too many Americans--especially residents of the inner cities--have become prisoners in their homes. Despite this plague, a powerful bloc of liberal lawmakers in Congress prevented the passage of tough anticrime measures proposed by the Bush administration. As Clinton prepares his own initiatives on crime, he would be wise to examine the recommendations released last year by former Attorney General William Barr. The report, entitled "Combatting Violent Crime," focuses on actions that can be taken at the state and local levels. Barr's recommendations, some of which are listed below, are a sound framework for state and local policy-makers.
TIDE OF RISING CRIME
State officials must address a simple fact: The United States is in the grip of a violent crime wave.
Violent crimes increased to over three times the rate in the 1990s than in 1960. The U.S. population increased by 41 percent, while the violent crime rate increased by more than 500 percent. As former Drug Control Policy Director William Bennett observed, "The rate of violent crime in the U.S. is worse than in any other industrialized country."
Most of this violence is committed by a very small group of hardened criminals who commit many violent crimes whenever they are out on the streets. For example, one California study found that 3.8 percent of a group of more than 236,000 men born in 1956 were responsible for 55.5 percent of all serious felonies committed by the study group. Law enforcement's top priority must be to identify, target, and incarcerate these hard-core, chronic offenders.
Give judges authority for pretrial detention of dangerous defendants. Every state should grant authority to its trial judges to hold, without bail, defendants who are a danger to witnesses, victims, or the community, both before trial and pending appeal. A study by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in 75 of the nation's most populous counties found that 18 percent of released defendants were rearrested for crimes committed while on pretrial release. Two-thirds of those rearrested while on release were again released.
This revolving door justice adds to crime and destroys public confidence in the criminal justice system. Law-abiding citizens understandably fear retaliation by returning criminals if they help police.
The Bail Reform Act of 1984 authorizes federal judges to deny bail or pretrial release to defendants with serious
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