Violence Against Children Targeted

Armed with information indicating that children exposed to violent crime are more likely to commit it later in life, President Clinton today plans to unveil a program that would increase penalties for violence against youngsters and provide greater social services for them.

White House officials say the program is intended to help law enforcement officers counter the spiral in which young victims turn to criminal behavior as they become adolescents and young adults.

Although data are lacking that correlates violence against younger children with a later proclivity toward crime, recent surveys have linked crime by teenagers to violent incidents earlier in their lives.

In addition, 30% of the nation’s teenagers in the last year either have witnessed or been victims of serious violence.

“As a result, they’re more likely to become criminals themselves,” one senior Clinton aide said.

According to a draft of remarks prepared for his announcement, Clinton will say that “it is time to consider sending a message that, when a man assaults or kills someone in the presence of a child, he is committing not one horrendous act but two.”

The president plans to ask Congress to approve tougher penalties for federal crimes committed against children and to encourage states to enact more stringent punishment. He would direct $12 million in already appropriated spending into programs to train law enforcement officials to better deal with the aftermath of violent crimes to which children are exposed.

In addition, his plan would allocate $10 million to local programs directed at preventing violence against children, as well as those providing mental health and other social services for victims.

Clinton also will announce a Department of Justice conference in the spring for law enforcement and social services personnel who deal primarily with childhood exposure to violence.

The president’s announcement today reflects a building White House effort to draw attention to domestic issues in the weeks leading to the State of the Union address next month.

According to one government survey cited by White House officials, teenagers who are victims of violent crime are more than 50% more likely to be arrested, and children who are victims of crimes between their ninth and 12th birthdays are 67 times more likely to be arrested than those who have a more peaceful childhood.

The initiative, reflecting a yearlong effort by senior Justice Department officials, is modeled after a program in New Haven, Conn., in which, White House officials say, the police department and mental health workers coordinate responses to crimes.

In the program, developed with assistance from child development experts at Yale University, mental health aides are available around the clock and police officers are trained to be sensitive to the needs of children, to help young victims and young witnesses deal with the aftermath of violence.