ENFORCING THE LAW

The President's anti-crime strategy is working. Serious crime is down six years in a row. The murder rate is down more than 28 percent, its lowest point in three decades. But, there is still much to be done to stop crime. To continue the President's fight against crime, the budget proposes a new 21st Century Policing Initiative, expands efforts to combat drugs, proposes funding to fight international crime, and builds on efforts to control gun violence. Specifically, the budget includes the following:

· 21st Century Policing Initiative: While enhancing Federal anti-crime capabilities, the budget seeks to empower States and communities, which play the central role in controlling crime, particularly violent crime. The $1.275 billion 21st Century Policing Initiative includes the following:

· More Police on the Streets. The budget provides $600 million to help communities to hire and redeploy between 30,000 and 50,000 more law enforcement officers over five years, with an effort to target new police officers to crime "hot spots" and to help retain those officers recently hired.

· Crime-fighting Technology. The budget provides $350 million to help State and local enforcement agencies tap into new technologies that will allow them to communicate more effectively, to use technology to solve more crimes, and to conduct comprehensive crime analysis.

· Community-based Prosecutors. The budget provides $200 million to hire, redeploy or train prosecutors. These prosecutors will interact directly with the community to fight crime on a proactive basis.

· Community Crime Prevention. The budget provides $125 million to engage entire communities in preventing and fighting crime--including community residents, probation and parole officers, faith-based organizations, and others from the private sector.

· Zero Tolerance Drug Supervision: The budget includes $215 million for a new program to promote "zero tolerance" drug supervision for persons under criminal justice supervision. Specifically, it proposes: (1) $100 million to help States and localities implement tough new systems to provide drug testing, sanctions, and treatment for prisoners, parolees, and probationers; (2) $50 million for drug courts that work to break non-violent offenders of their drug habits and reduce recidivism; and (3) $65 million to provide intensive drug treatment to hardcore drug users before and after they are released from prison.

· Firearms Enforcement: The Administration proposes an increase of $23 million to hire over 160 ATF agents to bolster firearms enforcement. The new agents will be used to support investigations at gun shows, the arrest of violent criminals and gun traffickers, and illegal attempts to buy firearms. The increase will also support an expansion of the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative from 27 to 37 cities. The President's budget includes an additional $5 million for U.S. Attorneys to increase firearms prosecutions.

· Combating Violence at Women's Health Clinics: In response to escalating violence at health facilities, the budget includes a new program and $4.5 million to support additional security at health clinics that provide abortions.

· Violence Against Women: Violence against women is a continuing problem. Studies show that law enforcement intervention often breaks the cycle of domestic violence, preventing subsequent incidents. The budget includes $456 million, which is an increase of $26 million over the 1999 enacted level, to maintain efforts to combat gender-based crime. The total includes $283 million in the Department of Justice and $173 million in the Department of Health and Human Services.

· Law Enforcement on Indian Lands: Homicide and violent crime on Indian lands are rising, even as crime rates in the rest of the country fall. The budget includes $164 million, which is $64 million above the 1999 enacted level, in the Departments of Justice and Interior for the second year of this initiative which provides anti-crime grants to Indian jurisdictions. The money is used to increase the number of fully trained and equipped police officers and to improve the quality of detention facilities.

· Juveniles: The budget proposes $289 million for programs to fight juvenile crime, which is an increase of $5 million from the 1999 enacted level and includes $95 million to support more local community prevention programs such as mentoring, truancy prevention, and gang intervention.

· Combating Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction: The budget includes $8.5 billion for government-wide efforts to combat terrorism. This represents a 13 percent increase over 1999 base enacted (excluding the 1999 emergency supplemental). Of the proposed $8.5 billion, $1.4 billion is to combat weapons of mass destruction (i.e. chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons), an 8 percent increase over 1999 base enacted. The budget fully funds the second year of the President's 1999 Chemical and Biological Weapons budget amendment which will continue efforts to equip and train State and local first responders and to expand research and development on chemical and biological agents.

· Fighting International Crime: The budget requests $1.8 billion for activities to combat international crime, including protecting U.S. borders by attacking smuggling and smuggling-related crimes; denying safe haven to international criminals; preventing money laundering, counterfeiting, and other international financial crimes; stopping criminal exploitation of international trade; and responding to emerging international crime threats.