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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

DOJ Reports Violent Crime Plunged in 2000

Aired June 13, 2001 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Tonight: violent crime in this country plunged by 15 percent last year. It's the biggest drop since the government survey began nearly three decades ago. Who deserves the credit? The Clinton Administration or the Republican Congress? I'll ask lawmakers from both sides.

President Bush meets the NATO allies, and makes a strong pitch for his missile defense program.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can't imagine a world that continues to be locked into a Cold War mentality when the Cold War is over.

BLITZER: Are the allies still giving the cold shoulder to the president's plan? I'll ask CNN senior White House correspondent John King.

And, a company hired to build Washington's already-controversial World War II Memorial is a subsidiary of a German firm which used Nazi-era slave labor and built a headquarters for Hitler. I'll have the inside story.

Good evening. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Capitol Hill. The numbers are still staggering. Last year, more than 25 million Americans were the victims of violent and property crimes. But according to the Justice Department's just-released survey, that's a lot less than the 44 million victims in 1973, when the government began to compile these numbers.

The violent crime rate plunged 15 percent last year alone, and that's our top story.

CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena joins me now with more details -- Kelli?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there were more than 1 million fewer violent crimes last year than in 1999. That's the biggest one year drop since the government started keeping track in 1973.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): The decline in violent crime continues a trend that began in the early 90s, and the decrease has affected nearly every demographic group in the survey. From 1993 through the year 2000 rapes dropped 60 percent. Aggravated assaults fell 52.5 percent and robbery fell nearly 47 percent.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: When you get a 15 percent reduction, that's one out of every 7 crimes. What would have happened last year doesn't happen this year. And that, in our view, is a very, very, very favorable sign.

ARENA: The survey is based on interviews with about 160,000 people. It doesn't seem in line with an FBI report released last month that found violent crimes increased slightly. That study is based solely on police reports. Experts suggest the truth lies somewhere in between.

AL BLUMSTEIN, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: Neither is the absolute gold standard truth. They both have problems.

ARENA: The new survey doesn't explain the why behind the numbers. But there is no shortage of theories: A strong economy, an aging baby boomer population, mentorship programs and tougher prison sentence. But some suggest what's working today could cause problems in the future.

ERIC HOLDER, FMR. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The fact that we've put people in jail for violent crimes for extended periods of time has again contributed to the numbers that we see, but also poses a challenge. We have seen these people go to jail in the mid '80's. These are folks who are going to be coming out of jail now. And the new administration is really going to be facing a tough problem: What do you do with these people as they cycle out of jail and back onto our streets?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: The administration also faces the challenge of keeping the crime statistics low. There are few clear answers on just how to do that, and the political consequences can be enormous -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli, these latest Justice Department numbers don't include murder. Why is that?

ARENA: That's right. Well, this particular survey is done by interviewing members of households about their firsthand experience. For obvious reasons you can't do that with murder victims. But this report does reference an earlier FBI report that shows that the murder rate dropped by 1.1 percent in 2000 compared to 1999. So even so we would still see a decline even though it was an FBI report versus the Justice Department report.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena in Washington, thank you very much. And there's a late developing story tonight from the Pentagon concerning the controversial Navy bombing range on the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques.

Let's go live to CNN's military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre. He's at the Pentagon -- Jamie. JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, what's clear, according to Pentagon sources, is that earlier this afternoon the White House was ready to pull the plug on the Navy's use of that controversial bombing range. But what's not so clear now is whether they'll go through with the plan in the face of pretty stiff opposition from some conservative members of Congress.

According to sources, the newly pointed Navy Secretary Gordon England met at the White House this afternoon and was ready to make an announcement on Friday, that the Navy would give up the use of the Vieques range, which has been the subject of many protest, after May of 2003, when an agreement with the Puerto Rican government ran out. But that was before some members of Congress weighed in.

Now the policy, we're told, is still under review. The White House may yet have the Pentagon make that announcement later this week, but they're recalculating some of the political ramifications. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy is sending another carrier group down for exercises that begin after this weekend, and it's expected that there'll be another round of protests by some of the island's residents -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much. In other news to night: President Bush has been meeting a lot of criticism on his European trip. Today he got to meet the NATO allies. While shying away from the idea of committing troops to Macedonia, Mr. Bush made it clear the United States remains committed to peacekeeping in the Balkans, and will not go it alone in withdrawing troops from that region.

BUSH: It's important for our nations to work together to put civil institutions in place, that ultimately could become the framework for the reduction and ultimately the removal of NATO troops. But we recognize it will take a while. And so what I said was, we came in together, and we'll leave together. And that's important for our allies to hear.

BLITZER: Outside NATO headquarters in Brussels, the demonstrations continued against the president's proposal to scrap the 1972 ABM treaty and build a missile defense system. Inside, Mr. Bush, at times forcefully, defended his plan.

BUSH: For those who suggest my administration will deploy a system that doesn't work are dead wrong. Of course we're not going to deploy a system that doesn't work. What good will that do? We'll only deploy a system that does work in order to keep the peace, but we must have the flexibility and opportunity to explore all options.

BLITZER: CNN senior White House correspondent John King is traveling with the president. A short time ago I asked him about Mr. Bush's combative stance at the NATO summit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: John, the president seemed to be on the defensive at the news conference in talking about missile defense, talking about troop deployments in the Balkans. Was he?

JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House I think, would prefer the term "determined," Wolf, to "defensive," but certainly Mr. Bush acknowledging speaking to reporters today that he came here not only to make his case for missile defense, but more broadly to dispel what he believes are bad notions about his image.

Many of the European allies have complained these last 4 1/2 months that Mr. Bush and his team has a "go-it-alone" approach, whether the issue be missile defense or global warming or some signs they might pull those peacekeeping troops out of Bosnia. Mr. Bush saying his number one goal today, never mind selling missile defense, was to get to know the other NATO allies and convince them that he is someone who want to listen, who wants to seek their advice.

Yet at the same time the president on several issues, most definitely on missile defense, saying he's determined to go forward. He hopes to convince them to see things his way, but he'll go forward regardless.

BLITZER: Did he make any real progress on the issue of missile defense, John?

KING: The administration certainly believes so. The leaders of Great Britain, Italy, Hungry, Poland, Spain, among those speaking out at least generally in favor of the idea of missile defense.

Remember, the president has yet to put a specific plan on the table, not it's not as if the NATO leaders are actually remembers passing judgment on a specific proposal for a specific defense system. Still, from the large allies, the important allies, still some skepticism. Gerhard Schroeder, the chancellor of Germany saying, he doesn't think this technology is proven. He wants the Chinese and the Russians consulted.

The French always objectionable to the United States in situations like this it seems, President Jacques Chirac saying he doesn't agree with Mr. Bush. He doesn't believe it's time to significantly amend or certainly not to abandon the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty.

BLITZER: And briefly, John on another controversial issue: Global climate control. The president is off to Sweden tomorrow. Is he expecting to take a lot of criticism over there?

KING: He is expecting criticism not only from European Union leaders but from demonstrators in the streets as well. A difficult political issue not only for Mr. Bush but also for the European Union. They want the Kyoto treaty, but the United States, the world's largest economy, Mr. Bush is making it clear, will not sign on. So even as they vent their anger at Mr. Bush, the focus at that conference will be trying to come up with some alternative -- Wolf

BLITZER: John, thank you very much. John King reporting tonight from Brussels.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And while Mr. Bush was trying to close ranks with the allies in Brussels, here on Capitol Hill a key Republican congressman was busy breaking ranks with the president. Representative Charlie Norwood announced he would seek passage of a far-reaching patients' bill of rights backed by Democrats and Republican John McCain, and opposed by the White House. Asked about the move, Mr. Bush repeated a veiled threat to veto the measure, saying, "I can't live with the bill."

The figures show that violent crime in America is down, way down. Who gets the credit? I'll speak with Republican Congressman Bob Barr and Democrat John Conyers.

Public record or an unspeakable intrusion? A judge rules on the Dale Earnhardt autopsy pictures. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Violent crime dropped nearly 15 percent last year, the biggest plunge since the Justice Department started keeping track back in 1973. Who's responsible? Was it the Clinton White House, the Republican Congress, or what used to be the good economy? Joining me now are two congressmen: Michigan Democrat John Conyers and Georgia Republican Bob Barr.

Thanks, congressmen, for joining us, and I want to get to that issue right in a second. But very briefly, we're hearing the White House may be urging the Navy to stop the training exercise in the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Would you be concerned about that?

I'd be very concerned, Wolf, because there is no other place that we have where we can use live fire as we do in Vieques. That would put a serious hole in our ability to conduct training to protect our troops.

BLITZER: And if, for political reasons, the White House ordered the Navy to stop, you'd be surprised?

REP. BOB BARR (R), GEORGIA: I'd be surprised, dismayed, and would fight it.

BLITZER: What about you, Congressman Conyers?

REP. JOHN CONYERS (D), MICHIGAN: Well, I think that using live ammunition would that involve and harm people in Puerto Rico is something that I object to rather strongly, and I feel that we should discontinue that practice. I don't think we should wait two years to do it, either.

BLITZER: So you'd support the White House if they gave that order.

But let's move on and talk about this crime report out by the Justice Department. What do you attribute this dramatic decline in crime in the United States to? CONYERS: Well, as best that I can figure, there would be a list of things. First of all, there would be the provision for community policing that President Clinton brought forward in 1994 -- 100,000 community cops who are on budget and on time. In New York, Los Angeles, and other places, there have been very dramatic reductions in crime, that people think that's one of the reasons.

The other...

BLITZER: That was a signature issue of President Bill Clinton. You know, when he left office, he did his final State of Union Address. I want you to listen, Congressman Barr, to what Bill Clinton said then about his record in fighting crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Crime in America has dropped for the past seven years, that's the longest decline on record, thanks to a national consensus we helped to forge on community police, sensible gun safety laws, and effective prevention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Does he deserve credit in this dramatic decline in crime in America?

BARR: First of all, this is good news to the American people, and we ought not to be stingy in who we give credit to. Yes, the former president does deserve some credit. The COPS program, although only about 50,000 of them got on the street, that did help. But I think what has helped more than anything else, Wolf -- and the statistics and the graphs are undeniable -- is increased rates and length of incarceration by both federal law enforcement and state law enforcement. There is a dramatic effect over the last 10 years, as rates of incarceration have increased, violent crime has dropped dramatically.

BLITZER: Congressman Conyers, keep the prisoners in prison longer?

CONYERS: Well, and build private prisons and start a whole industry -- that's not the way to go. And I don't think it really has made any real significant difference. What I would list as the factors that are important would be not only the community policing initiative of President Clinton, but the Brady Bill, that required people to register before they get a gun and be cleared of any convictions or any other problems. Some 600,000 people have been denied.

BLITZER: Background checks for handguns. You opposed the Brady Bill?

BARR: Well, I wasn't here when they passed it. But again, the one thing, Wolf, that has made more of a difference than anything else at both the federal and state level -- this isn't just the federal government -- is taking those violent offenders, putting them in jail at an increased rate and keeping them there longer, because statistics and our history and experience shows us that once they get out of jail, many of them commit more violent acts. That's what's made the difference, and that's why we have to continue to concentrate on those laws and their proper execution.

BLITZER: Congressman Conyers?

CONYERS: I'd like to point out that many of the people that are being incarcerated are people for drug offenses, for which it's their first conviction...

BARR: That's not true, John.

CONYERS: Many people, and there was no violence involved.

BARR: I'm talking about incarceration rates for violent crime. I'm not talking about others. I'm talking about violent criminals.

CONYERS: But the people that are being incarcerated at the higher rate are people that are involved in petty drug offenses, which is...

BARR: That's not true.

CONYERS: Which is moving the explosion in the prisons.

BLITZER: One thing that some Democrats are pointing out, that in the president's current budget, he's reduced the cops on the street, the community policing program, by about $145 million, from a billion dollars to $855 million.

Is that a serious mistake, in terms of cutting spending for keeping cops in the street?

BARR: I have a serious question about that, Wolf. When we had the HUD Secretary Martinez up here several weeks ago for an oversight hearing on the HUD budget, he was grilled very severely by both sides, with regard to the administration's proposal to cut out the police on the beat grants for public housing. I think that if we move in that direction without making sure that those funds are put back in there, we'd be making a serious mistake.

CONYERS: I'd agree with that.

BLITZER: But let me take note of agreement. Unfortunately, we are all out of time.

Congressman Conyers, Congressman Barr, we'll continue this discussion on another occasion. A beautiful night here in Washington, thank you so much for joining us.

CONYERS: Thank you so much.

BARR: Thank you. BLITZER: Thank you. And global mergers and the politics of the World War II Memorial. You may be surprised to hear who's building it. I'll tell you what the players in the latest controversy involving the World War II Memorial are telling me tonight.

And surfing the Web, high in the sky? We'll tell you about a plan to make that a reality for more airline passengers. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Here's a story people are beginning to talk about here in Washington, and soon will be around the rest of the country. The already controversial World War II memorial on the National Mall is suddenly becoming even more controversial.

That's because one of the U.S. construction companies contracted to build it, Tompkins Builders of Washington, D.C., is actually a wholly owned subsidiary of a German firm, Philipp Holzmann AG. During the war, Holzmann used concentration camp slave labor. Among other things, the company built a secret headquarters for Hitler.

I called Tompkins President Edward Small, who told me his firm may be owned by the German company but is "not controlled by them." He said only two of Tompkins 12 board members are from Holzmann. But the chairman of the group opposed to the entire $56 million project. John Graves of the national coalition to save the mall, tells me he's "mystified" the firm won the contract.

"God, what are they using for common sense?"

When I asked Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League how he felt about this revelation, he said, "It's ironic. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth."

But he said the ADL was not going to protest, noting that many other major corporations, including IBM and Ford, had a history of dealing with the Nazis before the war.

In other top stories, in the Middle East, Israel says it will begin implementing a U.S. mediated truce in stages in the coming weeks. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eleizer says that as the Palestinian side begins to put a halt to violence, Israeli troops will begin to open the sealed off Palestinian districts and allow the passage of goods.

Diplomatic sources confirm these are among the elements of a truce plan brokered by the CIA director George Tenet.

In Florida, a major victory for Dale Earnhardt's widow. A judge today agreed today with Teresa Earnhardt that sealed autopsy photos of the race car legend, should not be released to the public. A college newspaper and a Web site argued for access for the photos to shed light on Earnhardt's deadly crash in February. Earnhardt's widow argued it would cause her family emotional distress.

Tonight on the leading edge, you will soon be able to surf the Internet and get e-mail from 30,000 feet high. American, Delta and United Airlines have joined Boeing in offering fast Internet access on long-distance flights. The service, expected to cost passengers about $20 an hour, is set to begin next year.

Stem cell therapy is showing new promise in treating adults with leukemia. In the first U.S. study of its kind, almost a third of the leukemia patients given stem cells drawn from umbilical cord blood, survived long term. That's about the same rate as bone marrow transplants.

Up next, I'll open our mailbag. Many of you are writing about the president's first visit to Europe. One of you says he better improve his English the next time he goes abroad. I'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Time now to open our mailbag. Many of you reacted to President Bush's visit to Europe.

Ludwig from Heidelberg, Germany, writes: "I'd say that George Bush is taking the sissy approach to Europe by not visiting England, France, and Germany during his European tour. This is like a rock band touring the U.S. for the first time without playing in New York, Chicago, and L.A."

Tom from L.A. writes: "Wolf, how do we get the president of the United States to stop saying, nuc-u-lar, instead of nuclear. He's speaking in front of the world press in a hostile Europe."

But Douglas from Ohio says the president's doing a great job overseas.

"Indeed, he looks like a leader who is meeting all the rhetoric and tricky questions head on and offering alternative points of view. This is hardly the behavior of the man on the defensive."

Remember, I want to hear from you. Please e-mail me: at wolf@cnn.com. And you can read my daily on-line column and sign up for my e-mail previewing our nightly programs by going to my Web site: cnn.com/wolf.

Please stay with CNN throughout the night. Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin is Larry King's guest at the top of the hour. Up next, Greta Van Susteren.

Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer on Capitol hill. "THE POINT" with Greta Van Susteren begins right now.

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