MULTIPLE CAUSES OF DROP IN CRIME

Once again the Justice Department is hailing a decline in violent crime.
According to a report released Sunday, crime fell 7% last year from 1997,
with 8.1 million Americans falling victim, the lowest number reported since
the Justice Department began tracking the figure in 1973. The general 1998
decline continued a downward trend that began in 1994, the survey said.

President Clinton used the report to take partial credit for the trend.
"Today's Justice Department statistics confirm that our strategy of more
police on the street and fewer guns in the hands of criminals is working,''
he said, adding that the nation "should stick to this common-sense
strategy.'' He chastised members of Congress who "are willing to play
politics with our public safety, and threaten all of our progress'' by not
supporting his programs.

Since crime is overwhelmingly a local responsibility, this is rather a bold
claim. Furthermore, law enforcement experts credit a variety of factors for
the downturn, including a booming economy and declining unemployment, as
well as greater attention to community-based policing.

Nevertheless, a 7 percent drop is not enough to get people to start leaving
their homes and cars unlocked. And there are still too many robberies,
sexual assaults, burglaries and auto thefts, not to mention an abundance of
drugs still on the street. So this latest "good news'' about crime still
leaves residents in many cities virtual prisoners in their homes.

As expected, Attorney General Janet Reno also credited Clinton
administration policies for these latest statistics. However, she also,
correctly, listed several factors that have made a difference.

"It's because of more police officers on the streets, tougher sentences,
more prosecutions, better prevention programs, a healthy economy and a new
approach to crime fighting that involves a closer working relationship
between communities and federal, state and local law enforcement,'' Reno
declared.

Government strategies that embrace any or all of those components should
have bipartisan support and should not develop into a policy battle between
the Clinton administration and Congress. Criminals don't care about the
political parties of their victims, and politics should not get in the way
of effective crime fighting.