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Crime/Violence

Crime has fallen slightly since 1993, but Americans remain anxious about their chances of becoming victims. What worries many people is an upsurge in youth crime and the seemingly ever-more-random nature of urban violence. Even if reported crime has declined recently, Americans live with a level of crime roughly five times higher than it was just 30 years ago.

According to the U.S Department of Justice, total violent and property crimes fell about 3 percent from 1993 to 1994. During 1994, there were nearly 11 million violent crimes in the United States. In recent years, the U.S. also has experienced a steady growth in the number of people incarcerated for crimes, to the current figure of 1.6 million -- roughly the population of Houston.

There is not all that much a president can do directly about most crimes, other than use the bully pulpit of the office to talk about crime's causes and cures. And because much crime is committed by young people, the ebb and flow of demographic change affects crime rates, too.

That's a worry because the number of people under age 18 is expected to grow from 69 million in 1995 to 74 million in 2010. Already, more young people are getting in trouble than a decade ago. The arrest rate of children age 10 to 17 accused of violent crimes doubled between 1983 and 1992 and could double again by 2010, according to the Justice Department. If demographics is destiny, the nation could experience a wave of "superpredators" -- young street thugs from single-parent homes and bad schools who know nothing but crime and violence.

In January, Clinton devoted one of his Saturday radio talks to the issue of crime and violence, cited FBI figures that showed another slight decrease in crime in the first half of 1996 and declared his approach is working.

"Now that we've finally turned the crime on the run, we have to redouble our efforts," Clinton said.