Martin Hoke: “if President Clinton needs any proof that his crime bill is misguided, he only needs to look out the window right here…”

“if President Clinton needs any proof that his crime bill is misguided, he only needs to look out the window right here in Washington, DC, where the police chief has come out in support of the Republican idea to give block grants to local government. He knows the truth of what Republicans have been saying for years--that Washington simply does not have all the answers. This one-size-fits-all approach to crime control is completely wrong and contrary to whatever disinformation or misinformation we may have heard from the other side of the aisle. It is a very simple system. The local communities get to use this money for one of four purposes--more cops, more equipment, police in schools, or prevention. So they get to use this for prevention programs as long as they have law enforcement officers involved in them. The DARE Program will not go away. In fact, it is the perfect program that could be used in this way. This is something that ought to be supported. Clearly, it is being attacked by the President for the wrong reasons, and all he has to do is listen to Chief Thomas in Washington.”