Boston speech to outline president's youth-crime initiative

From Senior White House Correspondent Wolf Blitzer

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Youth-related violence will be the target in a speech President Clinton is scheduled to deliver Wednesday in Boston.

The president's address will outline a slew of legislative initiatives aimed at combating violence perpetrated by America's young, including:

an expanded Brady Handgun Law covering juveniles who commit violent crimes the incorporation of child safety locks on handguns $200 million to help local communities hire more prosecutors for anti-gang work expanded federal authority to treat juveniles who commit violent crimes as adults $60 million to fund new afterschool supervised activities at 1,000 schools in troubled areas around the country restructuring the Office of Juvenile Crime Control in the Justice Department

Clinton's proposed Brady Handgun Law revision would place the names of juvenile violent offenders in the pool of people ineligible to buy guns. Currently, violent offenders under the age of 18 are not identified in this way.

The afterschool activities proposal is based on statistics saying that most juvenile crimes are committed between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. The administration feels that keeping kids occupied during this period could help curb youth-related crime.

Also on the president's agenda are initiatives to combat truancy and help prosecutors deal more effectively with gang-related crime.

Boston was chosen as the site of Clinton's first major policy push of his second term because of the city's recent success in reducing youth crime.

Related stories:

• Allpolitics - Senate Democrats target youth, gangs In crime bill - January 15, 1997
• Clinton vows crackdown on intimidation by gangs - January 11, 1997

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