Political Quotes

“Today I would like to speak for a few minutes about the fight against crime in America. We have made tremendous progress over the last 10 years, largely by putting more police officers on the street. But there are some troubling signs that the tide is turning against us. In 2000, the drop in the national crime rate was the smallest since 1991. And just yesterday, we learned that crime in North Carolina actually went up last year, for the first time since 1995. So now is not the time to rest on the laurels of our victories against crime. It is time to bring the fight to the stubbornest pockets of criminality and the toughest problems in the justice system. In my view, the number one problem in our criminal justice system today is the early release system--sometimes called probation, sometimes parole, sometimes intensive supervision. But whatever you call it, it doesn't work. It is overburdened, understaffed, inconsistent, and almost completely unsuccessful. There are about 4 rac{1}{2} million people on probation and parole today, and most of them will break the law again and end up back in prison.”