Bill Clinton: “I'm going to let Lee Brown say a word to you now. You know, he started a community policing program in New York City.…”

“I'm going to let Lee Brown say a word to you now. You know, he started a community policing program in New York City. And I don't know if you saw it, but last week there was a wonderful cover story in the New York Times Sunday Magazine about a police officer named Kevin Jett who works eight square blocks in one of the toughest neighborhoods in New York. And the story pointed out that he not only arrests criminals but he also prevents a lot of crimes from occurring in the first place. And I think that's the emphasis we ought to have here. This is not simply a question of catching people who break the law in a violent fashion; it's preventing crime. So I want Lee to say a word. Mr. Brown. Let me congratulate the mayors and certainly the police chiefs for being selected. I've experienced community policing in Houston and New York; New York, for example, after one year we saw crime go down in every major category for the first time in 36 years. I see it as not only a better but a smarter and certainly more cost-effective way of using police resources. So congratulations to all of you, and Merry Christmas.”