Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
Pub. L.103–322 | |
Statutes at Large | 108 Stat. 1796 |
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Codification | |
Titles amended | 12 U.S.C.: Banks and Banking 42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare |
U.S.C. sections created | 42 U.S.C. ch. 136 |
Legislative history | |
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40th & 42nd Governor of Arkansas
42nd President of the United States
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The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, commonly referred to as the 1994 Crime Bill,[1] or the Clinton Crime Bill,[2] is an Act of Congress dealing with crime and law enforcement; it became law in 1994. It is the largest crime bill in the history of the United States and consisted of 356 pages that provided for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons which were designed with significant input from experienced police officers.[3] Sponsored by U.S. Representative Jack Brooks of Texas,[4] the bill was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.[5] Then-Senator Joe Biden of Delaware drafted the Senate version of the legislation in cooperation with the National Association of Police Organizations, also incorporating the Assault Weapons ban and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) with Senator Orrin Hatch.[6][7]
Following the
Origins
During the 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton sought to reposition the Democratic Party, which had previously been attacked as "soft on crime," as an advocate for "get-tough" policing strategies as well as investing in community policing. Federal funding for additional police and community policing were both priorities of the Democratic Leadership Council, of which Clinton was a member.[8] In an announcement that the New York Times described as "a page from the Republican playbook," Clinton said on July 23, 1992:
We cannot take our country back until we take our neighborhoods back. Four years ago this crime issue was used to divide America. I want to use it to unite America. I want to be tough on crime and good for civil rights. You can't have civil justice without order and safety.[9]
Clinton's platform, Putting People First, proposed to:
Fight crime by putting 100,000 new police officers on the streets. We will create a National Police Corps and offer unemployed veterans and active military personnel a chance to become law enforcement officers at home. We will also expand community policing, fund more drug treatment, and establish community boot camps to discipline first-time non-violent offenders.[10]
The 135,000-member National Association of Police Officers endorsed Clinton for president in August 1992.[11]
Senator Joe Biden drafted the Senate version of the legislation in cooperation with National Association of Police Officers president Tom Scotto. According to The Washington Post, Biden later described their involvement: "You guys sat at that conference table of mine for a six-month period, and you wrote the bill."[6]
A majority of The Congressional Black Caucus voted for the bill.[12] A Gallup survey in 1994 found that "58% of African Americans supported the crime bill, compared to 49% of white Americans."[13] However, a 1993 poll from USA Today, CNN, and Gallup found that "an overwhelming number of Blacks believed that the criminal justice system treated Blacks more harshly than whites."[14] Historian Michael Javen Fortner cites high crime rates as a likely cause of Black support of the bill as well as the bill's funding of crime prevention and rehabilitation programs.[15] In August of 1994, President Clinton worked to increase Democratic support of the bill and met with three Caucus members who had previously opposed the bill, convincing them that the bill was the best it could be.[16]
Provisions
Federal Assault Weapons Ban
Title XI-Firearms, Subtitle A-Assault Weapons, formally known as the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act but commonly known as the
This law also banned possession of newly manufactured magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.
The ban took effect September 13, 1994, and expired on September 13, 2004, by a sunset provision. Since the expiration date, there is no federal ban on the subject firearms or magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.
Federal Death Penalty Act
Title VI, the Federal Death Penalty Act, created 60 new death penalty offenses under 41 federal capital statutes,
The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing occurred a few months after this law came into effect, and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 was passed in response, which further increased the federal death penalty. In 2001, Timothy McVeigh was executed for the murder of eight federal law enforcement agents under that title.
The Federal Death Penalty Act was declared unconstitutional in the case of U.S. v Quinones, ruling that the Act presented an "undue risk of executing innocent people". This decision was reversed on appeal, allowing its continued use.[19] However, the death penalty for non-homicidal crimes was abolished nationwide in 2008.
Elimination of higher education for inmates
One of the more controversial provisions of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act overturned a section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 permitting prison inmates to receive a Pell Grant for higher education while they were incarcerated. The amendment is as follows:
(a) IN GENERAL- Section 401(b)(8) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(8)) is amended to read as follows: (8) No basic grant shall be awarded under this subpart to any individual who is incarcerated in any Federal or State penal institution.[20]
The VCCLEA effectively eliminated the ability of lower-income prison inmates to receive college educations during their term of imprisonment, thus ensuring the education level of most inmates remains unimproved over the period of their incarceration.[21]
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, signed into law on December 27, 2020, restored the ability of incarcerated students to receive Pell Grants beginning July 1, 2023[22]
Violence Against Women Act
Title IV, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), allocated $1.6 billion to help prevent and investigate violence against women. VAWA was renewed in 2000, 2005, and 2013. This includes:
- The Safe Streets for Women Act, which increased federal penalties for repeat sex offenders and requires mandatory restitutionfor the medical and legal costs of sex crimes.
- The Safe Homes for Women Act increased battered women's shelters, created a National Domestic Violence Hotline, and required for restraining orders of one state to be enforced by the other states. It also added a rape shield law to the Federal Rules of Evidence.
Part of VAWA was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in United States v. Morrison (2000).
Driver's Privacy Protection Act
Title XXX, the
Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act
Under Title XVII,[24] known as the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, guidelines were established for states to track sex offenders.[25] States had also been required to track sex offenders by confirming their place of residence annually for ten years after their release into the community or quarterly for the rest of their lives if the sex offender was convicted of a violent sex crime.[25] The Wetterling Act was later amended in 1996 with Megan's Law, which permanently required states to give public disclosure of sex offenders.[25] In 2006, the Wetterling Act's state registers was replaced with a federal register through the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.[26]
Community Oriented Policing Services
Since 1994, the COPS Office has provided $30 billion in assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies to help hire community policing officers. The COPS Office also funds the research and development of guides, tools and training, and provides technical assistance to police departments implementing community policing principles.[27] The law authorized the COPS Office to hire 100,000 more police officers to patrol the nation's streets.[28]
Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants Program
Title II of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 provided incentive grants to build and expand correctional facilities to qualifying states that enforced mandatory sentencing of 85% of a person's sentence conviction.[29][30] "One purpose of theVOI/TIS incentive grants," the Bureau reported, "is to enable States to manage prison capacity by providing funds to increase prison beds for violent offenders."[31]
Other provisions
The Act authorized the initiation of "boot camps" for delinquent minors and allocated a substantial amount of money to build new prisons.
Fifty new
The Act also generally prohibits individuals who have been convicted of a felony involving breach of trust from working in the business of insurance, unless they have received written consent from state regulators.
The Act also made
As a result of this Act, the Board decided that the Civil Rights Division should primarily control the work of internal affairs of Law Enforcements for possible reasons of bias, and as a precaution, the Internal Affairs member should cooperate with the Civil Rights Division as per the Council's resolution.
The Act prohibits "any person acting on behalf of a governmental authority, to engage in a pattern or practice ... that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States." (Title XXI, Subtitle D.) Subtitle D further requires the United States Department of Justice to issue an annual report on "the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers." Such reports have not been issued, however.[33]
The Act included a three-strikes provision addressing repeat offenders.[34]
The Act expanded the scope of required FBI data to include hate crimes based on disability, and the FBI began collecting data on disability bias crimes on January 1, 1997.[35]
Legacy and impacts
The 1994 Crime Bill marked a shift in the politics of crime and policing in the United States. Sociologist and criminologist William R. Kelly states that, "While the longer-term impact of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 was questionable, the political impact was clear—crime control or 'tough on crime' became a bipartisan issue."[36]
Bill Clinton has claimed credit for the reduction in crime rates in the 1990s, stating that, "Because of that bill we had a 25-year low in crime, a 33-year low in the murder rate, and because of that and the background-check law, we had a 46-year low in deaths of people by gun violence."
The legal system relied on
See also
- Incarceration in the United States
- United States incarceration rate
- Comparison of United States incarceration rate with other countries
References
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ Lussenhop, Jessica (April 18, 2016). "Why is Clinton crime bill so controversial?". BBC News. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994". National criminal justice reference service.
- ^ Brooks, Jack B. (September 13, 1994). "H.R.3355 - 103rd Congress (1993-1994): Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994". U.S. Congress. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
- ^ "The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994". History, Art & Archives. US House of Representatives. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
- ^ a b Kranish, Michael (June 8, 2020). "Joe Biden let police groups write his crime bill. Now, his agenda has changed". Washington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Law, Tara (September 12, 2019). "The Violence Against Women Act Was Signed 25 Years Ago. Here's How the Law Changed American Culture". Time. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-137-40144-1.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Clinton, Bill (June 21, 1992). "PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST: A NATIONAL ECONOMIC STRATEGY FOR AMERICA".
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ "Analysis: Black Leaders Supported Clinton's Crime Bill". NBC News. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ Galston, Rashawn Ray and William A. (August 28, 2020). "Did the 1994 crime bill cause mass incarceration?". Brookings. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ Fortner, Michael Javen (October 1, 2020). "Reconstructing Justice: Race, Generational Divides, and the Fight Over "Defund the Police"". Niskanen Center: 11.
- ^ "The Clintons Aren't the Only Ones to Blame for the Crime Bill". The Marshall Project. October 7, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ Hosler, Karen (August 18, 1994). "Black Caucus yields on crime bill". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0313386701.
- ^ "The Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994". Office of the United States Attorneys. Department of Justice. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- )
- ^ "H. R. 1168". Bulk.Resource.Org.
- ^ "Education as Crime Prevention: The Case for Reinstating Pell Grant Eligibility for the Incarcerated" (PDF). Bard Prison Initiative. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2007.
- ^ https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/dear-colleague-letters/2023-03-29/eligibility-confined-or-incarcerated-individuals-receive-pell-grants
- ^ Miller, Michael W. (August 25, 1992). "Information Age: Debate Mounts Over Disclosure Of Driver Data". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "42 U.S. Code § 14071 to 14073 - Repealed. Pub. L. 109–248, title I, § 129(a), July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 600". LII / Legal Information Institute.
- ^ a b c "Legislative History - SMART Office". SMART website - Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "COPS History". Community Oriented Policing Services.
- ^ a b c "Bill Clinton's claim that 100,000 cops sent the crime rate 'way down' - The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b 103rd Congress (1993-1994) (September 13, 1994). "H.R.3355 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994". congress.gov. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Bureau of Justice Statistics. "Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Truth in Sentencing in State Prisons" (PDF). Bureau of Justice Statistics. p. 3. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Bureau of Justice Statistics (January 1999). Truth in Sentencing in State Prisons (PDF) (Report). NCJ 170032. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Dempsey, James; Cole, David (2006). Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties In The Name Of National Security (Scribd Online ed.). New York: New Press. p. 63. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ^ Serpico, Frank (October 23, 2014). "The Police Are Still Out of Control". Politico Magazine: 2. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
- ^ a b Vara, Vauhini (November 7, 2014). "Will California Again Lead the Way on Prison Reform?". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- CJIS. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 9, 2007. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-231-53922-7.
- ^ Terruso, Julia; Lubrano, Alfred (April 7, 2016). "Bill Clinton stumps for Hillary in Philly - and parries with protesters". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4223-0454-9.
- ISBN 978-1-4223-0454-9.
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- ^ "Clinton Crime Agenda Ignores Proven Methods for Reducing Crime" (Press release). Justice Policy Institute. April 14, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- ^ "20 Years Later, Parts Of Major Crime Bill Viewed As Terrible Mistake". NPR.org. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ "The controversial 1994 crime law that Joe Biden helped write, explained". Vox. June 20, 2019.
- ^ US General Accounting Office (1998). Truth in Sentencing: Availability of Federal Grants Influenced Laws in Some States. Washington, DC: General Accounting Office.
- ^ Rohrlich, Justin (November 10, 2014). "Why Are There Up to 120,000 Innocent People in US Prisons?". VICE news. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- ^ Hunt, Kasie (October 8, 2014). "Bill Clinton: Prison sentences to take center stage in 2016". MSNBC. Retrieved June 2, 2015.