21st Century Policing Initiative
In order to keep crime rates down to record low levels, and officers on the beat at all time highs, the President is committed to continuing the second year of his 21st Century Policing Initiative. The 21st Policing Initiative, builds on his successful COPS program that has funded 100,000 more community police for our streets, by: (1) providing resources for communities to hire and redeploy up to 50,000 more police for our streets by FY 2005 with an effort to target new police officers to crime “hot spots”; (2) giving law enforcement access to the latest crime-fighting and crime-solving technologies, such as improved police communications, crime mapping software, laptop computers, and crime lab improvements; and (3) funding new state and local prosecutors to work with local law enforcement and the community to combat local crime problems; and (4) engaging all sectors of the community to prevent and fight crime by funding partnerships with probation parole officers, schools, and faith-based organizations.

Fighting Gun Crime with New National Gun Enforcement Initiative
Building on his successful strategy of combating gun violence that has helped lead to a 35 percent decline in gun crime, the President proposed $280 million to fund the largest national gun enforcement initiative in history that specifically includes:

• 500 New ATF Agents and Inspectors - The President's initiative includes the largest increase ever in ATF agents and inspectors, with new agents to crack down on violent gun criminals and illegal gun traffickers at guns shows, gun stores and on the streets, and more firearms inspectors to target unscrupulous gun dealers who supply firearms to criminals and juveniles.
• Over 1,000 New Federal, State and Local Gun Prosecutors - The proposal will fund 1,000 new state and local prosecutors to combat gun crime and violence, 100 new federal gun prosecutors, and new gun enforcement teams to coordinate efforts with local law enforcement to remove gun criminals from our communities and put them behind bars.
• Comprehensive Crime Gun Tracing - To move toward tracing every crime gun in America, 250 local law enforcement agencies will receive training and tracing equipment to facilitate comprehensive tracing, and the Administration's Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII) will be expanded from 38 to 50 cities across the country.
• New National Integrated Ballistics Information Network - The President's initiative will triple current funding for ballistics testing programs to launch the first-ever national ballistics network -- to support the deployment of 150 ballistics imaging units to law enforcement, helping to link bullets and shell casings to the criminal guns they were fired from.
• Local Anti-Gun Violence Media Campaigns - To help communities send a strong message to combat gun crime and violence, the initiative funds matching grants to support local media campaigns highlighting penalties for breaking gun laws, proper storage of firearms and preventing child access.

Funding Innovative Smart Gun Technology
The accidental gun death rate for children under 15 in the U.S. is nine times higher than 25 other industrialized nations combined. To help prevent accidental gun death and injuries of children who obtain access to guns, gun theft, and other unauthorized uses, the President committed to fund the expansion, testing and replication of "smart" gun technologies. These state-of-the-art gun safety precautions can limit a gun's use to its adult owner or other authorized users.

Passing Common Sense Gun Legislation
In addition to pressing the Congress to pass his aggressive gun enforcement budget to give communities more and better tools to fight gun crime, President Clinton urged the Congress to make passage of pending common sense gun safety measures the first order of legislative business. Among the reforms he called on the Congress to enact include: closing the gun show loophole by requiring background checks and records at gun shows; requiring child safety locks for handguns sold; banning the importation of large capacity ammunition magazines; and banning violent juveniles from owning guns for life.