                        NOTABLE SPEECHES
             RESPONDING TO VIOLENT CRIME IN AMERICA

                               By 

                         Louis J. Freeh
                          FBI Director

     The people of this country are fed up with crime. The media
report it. Statistics reflect it. Polls prove it. Indeed, some
political analysts say that this past November's election results
are, at least in part, the products of this attitude and concern.

     There have been some very modest decreases in reported
crime. In April 1993, however, the International Association of
Chiefs of Police published a report on violent crime in America,
which noted that the rate of violent crime in this country has
increased 371% since 1960. That is nine times faster than the
U.S. population has grown.

     In the past 30 years, homicides have nearly tripled,
robberies and forcible rapes each are up over 500%, and
aggravated assaults have increased more than 600%. According to
the most recent National Crime Victimization Survey, nearly 37
million people have been injured by criminals in this country in
the past 20 years. It is estimated that crime has cost America
$19 billion since 1991.

     Law enforcement does not pay lip service to the
Constitution's guarantee about "insur[ing] domestic tranquility."
We take that responsibility very seriously. On the other hand,
Americans must be realistic about the role of Federal law
enforcement agencies, especially in these times of fiscal
austerity. I want to review for you my assessment of where the
FBI stands today, as well as some of the problems that will
confront us in the years to come.

FBI JURISDICTION

     When the predecessor to today's FBI was created in 1908,
there were just a few Federal laws to be enforced. Agents
primarily investigated violations of the laws involving national
banking, bankruptcy, naturalization, antitrust, peonage, and land
fraud. Over time, the FBI's jurisdiction grew to include white
slavery and espionage.

     That jurisdictional growth has continued unabated. For
example, in the past decade alone, Congress has made the FBI
responsible for investigating parental kidnappings, parents who
travel interstate in order to default on child support payments,
and carjackings. Contemplated areas of jurisdiction include
drive-by shootings, interference with access to abortion clinics,
stalking, and interstate travel to abuse a spouse or intimate
partner.

     In citing these examples, I make no value judgments about
the validity of specific pieces of legislation. I merely note
them, because they illustrate the continuous and rapid growth of
the FBI's jurisdiction.

     Rapid, unchecked federalization of criminal activity could
overwhelm the limited resources of Federal law enforcement
agencies, including the FBI. In addition, it could create
unrealistic expectations among the American public.

     The FBI will, however, continue to establish investigative
priorities and follow them in a manner that will have the
greatest impact on the major crime problems confronting this
Nation. To do so requires a thoughtful, not knee jerk,
reorganization of our resources.

REORGANIZATION OF RESOURCES

     Everyone knows that the Federal Government has acquired some
fat over the years--fat that needs to  be trimmed. No one
suggests that Federal law enforcement is the paragon of
efficiency.

     Since I became FBI Director, I have undertaken a review of
our headquarters personnel in order to assess which of those
agents can be returned to the field to fight crime. Attorney
General Reno likewise has recognized that there has been a
duplication of efforts among the criminal agencies of the
Department of Justice. Demonstrating great innovation, the
Attorney General has created the Office of Investigative Agency
Policies as a means to coordinate and consolidate Federal law
enforcement efforts. Through successful coordination and the
avoidance of petty infighting and squabbling, we will--on a broad
basis--make more meaningful use of agents in the field, where
they can best serve the Nation's interests.

     Each of the Department of Justice's agencies brings a
certain expertise to the fight against crime. The goal is to
maximize their productivity and decrease the level of unhealthy
competition that exists among and between those agencies. Areas
where coordination will be examined and improved include the
sharing of intelligence and the proliferation of task forces,
many of which address the same or similar law enforcement
targets.

     In short, we recognize that Federal agents have not always
been used to their fullest potential. Understand, however, that
we at the FBI, as well as the Department of Justice as a whole,
are taking the steps necessary to rectify those deficiencies.
That is absolutely necessary in order for the FBI and the
Department to maintain the standards of excellence for which they
are known.

REDEPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL

     We have been creative in our efforts to deploy more agents
in the fight against crime. Since the end of the Cold War a
couple of years ago, the FBI has been able to shift some agents
from national security to criminal investigations.

     America must understand, however, that intelligence agents
from the countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as several
other countries, still pose a threat to national security. To
move all national security agents to criminal investigations
would be irresponsible. If further transfers of national security
agents are possible, they will be done, so long as the domestic
security of the United States is not jeopardized.

     Likewise, many of those national security agents are tasked
to examine foreign attempts at economic espionage directed
against American corporations. Some of these attempts are made by
foreign countries; others are made by foreign businesses. These
attempts, when successful, cause much harm to this Nation's
economy.

     Unfortunately, FBI agents must work without a great deal of
legislative guidance, because Congress has not fully defined
economic espionage. This does not mean that there is no threat.
Indeed, in this time of a new world order, it is imperative that
Congress provide a clear definition, because the nature of the
foreign threat facing us is constantly changing.

     One area where the FBI has successfully redeployed some
national security agents is in the fight against violent
criminals in America. Currently, the FBI has more than 2,200
agents working on violent crime cases, which represents almost
30% of the FBI's total number of agents assigned to criminal
investigations.

GANG VIOLENCE

     I want to talk to you for a few moments about the nature and
extent of the violence facing this country. An illustration of
that violence is shown by the migration of the Bloods and Crips
east from California and the Gangster Disciples south from
Illinois. What began a few decades ago as a problem endemic to
certain neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Chicago has become a
scourge throughout America's heartland.

     Unfortunately, as these gangs have spread, residents of
cities such as Denver, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Kansas City, and St.
Louis have joined the ranks of those victimized by gang
activities. Those people know the reality that as gangs muscle
into new turfs, they trigger violence from existing criminal
elements.

     Despite their willingness to engage in random acts of
violence and to swell their ranks with youthful recruits, gangs
seek the cloak of legitimacy. In order to humanize their members,
some gangs have been holding summits throughout the United States
this year.

     Indeed, one report published in September noted that the
Mexican Mafia held a summit just a short distance from the Los
Angeles Police Academy. That summit's goal was very simple--to
communicate to gang members that drive--by shootings are
impermissible and that retribution will be taken against those
who engage in them. This was not, however, a humanitarian
gesture. According to that account, the purpose behind the summit
was to diminish law enforcement interest in their illegal
activities, which had been enhanced by the public's outcry
against the rise in drive-by shootings, and to solidify drug ties
among those attending the summit.

     Gangs are not legitimate organizations. Americans must
always remember that crime is their lifeblood, and in their wake,
they spread nothing but misery, sadness, and destruction. From
the junkie who has to commit crimes in order to buy more crack
from a gang member, to the innocent child who is shot to death
during gang warfare. From the resident of public housing who
experiences violence as the gangs seek to establish a choke hold
in the neighborhood, to the suburban homeowner whose property
value drops merely because gangs are active in the area.

     All of America suffers from gang activities. No
autobiography, no movie, no song, no music video, in short, no
attempt to glorify gangs can reverse the suffering and hardship
that they inflict on decent people everywhere.

     Americans recognize the threat that these violent criminals
pose to our safety. Last November, in Memphis, President Clinton
referred to this threat as "the great crisis of the spirit that
is gripping America today." The President is right, and we all
must confront the war that is going on in our neighborhoods with
an unprecedented determination. Indeed, as the President has
noted, "It is our moral duty to turn it around."

     The task is formidable, because the weaponry and ammunition
at the disposal of the gangs and drug dealers is staggering. The
image of teenagers patrolling the streets with assault weapons is
no longer something that is confined to a news story about some
distant land. In too many places in America, it has become
reality.

ASSAULT WEAPONS

     In a civilized society like ours, there is simply no place
for assault weapons, which serve only to provide a source of
strength and power to America's criminal elements. These weapons
of destruction must be banned. Not just a ban on importation, but
a ban on domestic manufacture and a ban on distribution of these
weapons of death.

     I am encouraged by the corporate responsibility one
manufacturer demonstrated by ending the public sale of the Black
Talon bullet, which is designed to maximize the damage inflicted
upon its victim. If the Black Talon bullet had remained
available, it would be tailor-made for gang warfare.

VIOLENT CRIMES

     In order to address America's epidemic of violence, the FBI
has, in less than 3 years, formed more than 100 Safe Streets Task
Forces with many of our State and local law enforcement partners.
These task forces have proven to be very effective and should be
expanded. Through the efforts of these task forces, we are not
seeking to flood Federal courts with cases involving the
commission of any violent crime. Indeed, many such cases should
be, and are, tried in State courts.

     There is, however, an appropriate role for the Federal legal
system to play. Using such existing Federal statutes as the Hobbs
Act, RICO, ITAR, and narcotics laws, the FBI can focus its
efforts and resources on those criminal organizations, including
gangs, that are responsible for a disproportionate amount of the
violence in this Nation and have proven to be beyond the reach of
State and local law enforcement.

     The FBI is, and must be, vigilant about the threats posed by
Russian gangsters who, with the breakup of the former Soviet
Union, have decided to pursue their illegal ventures in the
United States, sometimes in tandem with the Mafia. Similar
threats are posed by Asian drug dealers and triad members who are
ready to flee Hong Kong before it devolves to the People's
Republic of China in 1997. We must provide greater international
assistance in order to minimize the threat posed by these
criminal elements.

DIGITAL TELEPHONY

     One investigative technique that the FBI has used very
effectively against many criminal groups is wiretapping. The
continued use of this technique, however, is threatened.
Telephonic digital technology has advanced in such a way that
criminals will be able to avoid law enforcement detection simply
by using the telephone. They will be able to conduct their
illicit businesses openly and without any fear of the
consequences.

     In order to keep up with the criminals and to protect
national security, the solution is clear. We need legislation to
ensure that telephone companies and other carriers provide law
enforcement with access to this new technology. Without it, one
can reasonably predict that in the future, a major terrorist or
criminal act will occur involving substantial loss of life, a
tragedy that we could not prevent because we could not learn
critical information through electronic surveillance. That will
not be the time to discuss what could have been or what should
have been. That time is now.

CONCLUSION

     The fact that Americans are fed up with crime can actually
provide us with a great source of strength. It can energize this
great country and enable its citizens to take back their streets,
their neighborhoods, their towns, their cities.

     Rest assured, the FBI will continue to play a major role in
that effort. As we move forward, I am mindful of the words of
Theodore Roosevelt: "This country will not be a good place for
any of us to live in, unless we make it a good place for all of
us to live in."