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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

VICE PRESIDENT GORE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO ANNOUNCE NEW REPORT ON HIGH-TECH CRIME REDUCTION STRATEGIES

"Crime mapping and other information-age tools are changing the face of law enforcement in the United States" Vice President Gore said. "The recommendations in this report will put better tools in the hands of police departments and better information in the hands of communities."

"Crime Mapping technologies are a wonderful tool to help law enforcement agencies get one step ahead of the criminals and help prevent crimes before they are committed," said Attorney General Janet Reno.

The report, "Mapping Out Crime", was prepared by a task force co-chaired by Associate Attorney General Raymond C. Fisher and Morley Winograd, Director of the National Partnership for Reinventing Government. The report describes practical examples of how police departments are using crime mapping, and sets forth a vision of how this technology will help change the face of law enforcement in the next century.

The report recommends a number of steps to make crime mapping software, training and technical support more widely available to police departments. It urges the Congress to increase funding for information technology by appropriating funds for the 21st Century Policing Initiative. The report also encourages investment in basic information that will help communities better protect public safety in the next century.

Mapping Out Crime also calls on federal law enforcement agencies to make greater use of these tools in national efforts to reduce gun violence, the fight against drugs, and other priority areas.

The Department of Justice also announced today that it will make several crime mapping tools available at no cost to law enforcement agencies, including the following resources:

• Crime analysis tools that will support police departments which are seeking to make use of crime data, map "hot spots," and generate maps;

• An Electronic Community Policing Beat Book that will let front-line officers generate and personalize maps on laptops in their squad cars, mapping such information as the names and locations of businesses, neighborhood associations, and resources on their beats; and

• QuickMap, a tool that will generate maps for police officers, detectives, and managers, part of a Regional Crime analysis Geographic Information System that will help police departments share information and solve multi-jurisdictional crimes.