U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Office of the Director, Washington, DC SPEECH OF LOUIS J. FREEH DIRECTOR FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION BEFORE THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB WASHINGTON, D.C. DECEMBER 8, 1993 Good afternoon. I would like to thank President Boyce for inviting me and the members and staff of the National Press Club for allowing me to speak here today. I would also like to thank the members of the Committee who arranged the luncheon. Finally, I would like to welcome the distinguished guests who have joined us here today. The people of this country are fed up with crime. The media report it. Statistics reflect it. Polls prove it. Indeed, some political analysts say that last month's election results are, at least in part, the products of this attitude and concern. There have been some very modest decreases in reported crime during the last few months. This past April, however, the International Association of Chiefs of Police published a report on violent crime in America, which noted that the rate of violent crime in this country has increased 371% since 1960. That is nine times faster than our population has grown. In the past 30 years, homicides have nearly tripled, robberies and forcible rapes each are up over 500%, and aggravated assaults have increased more than 600%. According to the most recent National Crime Victimization Survey, nearly 37 million people have been injured by criminals in this country in the past 20 years. It is estimated that crime has cost America $19 billion since 1991. Law enforcement does not pay lip service to the Constitution's guarantee about ''insur[ing] domestic tranquility.'' We take that responsibility very seriously. On the other hand, Americans must be realistic about the role of Federal law enforcement agencies, especially in these times of fiscal austerity. This afternoon,I want to review for you my assessment of where the FBI stands today, as well as some of the problems that will confront us in the years to come. When the predecessor to today's FBI was created in 1908, there were just a few Federal laws to be enforced. Agents primarily investigated violations of the laws involving national banking, bankruptcy, naturalization, antitrust, peonage, and land fraud. Over time, the FBI's jurisdiction grew to include white slavery and espionage. That jurisdictional growth has continued unabated. For example, in the past decade alone, Congress has made the FBI responsible for investigating parental kidnappings, parents who travel interstate in order to default on child support payments, and carjackings. Contemplated areas of jurisdiction include drive-by shootings, interference with access to abortion clinics, stalking, and interstate travel to abuse a spouse or intimate partner. In citing these examples, I make no value judgments about the validity of specific pieces of legislation. I merely note them, because they illustrate the continuous and rapid growth of the FBI's jurisdiction. Rapid, unchecked federalization of criminal activity could overwhelm the limited resources of Federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. In addition, it could create unrealistic expectations among the American public. We will, however, continue to establish our investigative priorities and follow them in a manner that will have the greatest impact on the major crime problems confronting this Nation. To do so requires a thoughtful, not knee jerk, reorganization of our resources. Everyone knows that the Federal Government has acquired some fat over the years. Fat that needs to be trimmed. No one suggests that Federal law enforcement is the paragon of efficiency. In the three months that I have been FBI Director, I have undertaken a review of our headquarters personnel in order to assess which of those agents we can return to fighting crime in the field. Attorney General Reno likewise has recognized that there has been a duplication of efforts among the criminal agencies of the Department of Justice. Demonstrating great innovation, the Attorney General has created the Office of Investigative Agency Policies as a means to coordinate and consolidate Federal law enforcement efforts. Through successful coordination and the avoidance of petty infighting and squabbling, we will -- on a broad basis -- make more meaningful use of our agents in the field, where they can best serve the Nation's interests. Each of the Department of Justice's agencies brings a certain expertise to the fight against crime. The goal is to maximize their productivity and decrease the level of unhealthy competition that exists among and between those agencies. Areas where coordination will be examined and improved include the sharing of intelligence and the proliferation of task forces, many of which address the same or similar law enforcement targets. In short, we recognize that Federal agents have not always been utilized to their fullest potential. Understand, however, that we at the FBI, as well as the Department of Justice as a whole, are taking the steps necessary to rectify those deficiencies. That is absolutely necessary in order for the FBI and the Department to maintain the standards of excellence for which they are known. We have been creative in our efforts to deploy more agents in the fight against crime. Since the end of the Cold War a couple of years ago, the FBI has been able to shift some agents from national security to criminal investigations. America must understand, however, that intelligence agents from the countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as several other countries, still pose a threat to our national security. To move all of our national security agents to criminal investigations would be irresponsible. If further transfers of national security agents are possible, they will be done, so long as our domestic security is not jeopardized. Likewise, many of those national security agents are tasked to examine foreign attempts at economic espionage directed against American corporations. Some of these attempts are made by foreign countries, others are made by foreign businesses. These attempts, when successful, cause much harm to this Nation's economy. Unfortunately, our agents must work without a great deal of legislative guidance, because Congress has not fully defined economic espionage. That does not mean that there is no threat. Indeed, in this time of a New World Order, it is imperative that Congress provide a clear definition, because the nature of the foreign threat facing us is constantly changing. One area where the FBI has successfully redeployed some national security agents is in the fight against violent criminals in America. Currently, the FBI has more than 2200 agents working on violent crime cases, which represents almost 30% of the FBI's total number of agents assigned to criminal investigations. I want to talk to you for a few moments about the nature and extent of the violence facing this Country. An illustration of that violence is shown by the migration of the Bloods and Crips east from California and the Gangster Disciples south from Illinois. What began a few decades ago as a problem endemic to certain neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Chicago has become a scourge throughout Am erica's heartland. Unfortunately, as these gangs have spread, residents of cities such as Denver, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis have joined the ranks of those victimized by gang activities. Those people know the reality that, as gangs muscle into new turfs, they trigger violence from existing criminal elements. Despite their willingness to engage in random acts of violence and to swell their ranks with youthful recruits, gangs seek the cloak of legitimacy. In order to humanize their members, some gangs have been holding summits throughout the United States this year. Indeed, one report published in September noted that the Mexican Mafia held a summit just a short distance from the Los Angeles Police Academy. That summit's goal was very simple: to communicate to gang members that drive-by shootings are impermissible and that retribution will be taken against those who engage in them. This was not, however, a humanitarian gesture. According to that account, the purpose behind the summit was to diminish law enforcement interest in their illegal activities, which had been enhanced by the public's outcry against the rise in drive-by shootings; and, to solidify narcotics ties among those attending the summit. Gangs are not legitimate organizations. Am ericans must always remember that crime is their lifeblood and, in their wake, they spread nothing but misery, sadness, and destruction. From the junkie who has to commit crimes in order to buy more crack from a gang member, to the innocent child who is shot to death during gang warfare. From the resident of public housing who experiences violence as the gangs seek to establish a choke hold in his project, to the suburban homeowner whose property value drops merely because gangs are active in his area. All of America suffers from gang activities. No autobiography, no movie, no song, no music video, in short, no attempt to glorify gangs can reverse the suffering and hardship that they inflict on decent people everywhere. Americans recognize the threat that these violent criminals pose to our safety. Last month in Memphis, President Clinton referred to this threat as ''the great crisis of the spirit that is gripping America today.'' The President is right and we all must confront the war that is going on in our neighborhoods with an unprecedented determination. Indeed, as the President has noted, ''It is our moral duty to turn it around.'' The task is formidable, because the weaponry and ammunition at the disposal of the gangs and drug dealers is staggering. The image of teenagers patrolling the streets with assault weapons is no longer something that is confined to a news story about some distant land. In too many places in our country, it has become reality. In a civilized society like ours, there is simply no place for assault weapons, which serve only to provide a source of strength and power to America's criminal elements. These weapons of destruction must be banned. Not just a ban on importation, but a ban on domestic manufacture and a ban on distribution of these weapons of death. I am encouraged by the corporate responsibility one manufacturer recently demonstrated by ending the public sale of the Black Talon bullet, which is designed to maximize the damage inflicted upon its victim. If the Black Talon bullet had remained available, it would be tailor made for gang warfare. In order to address America's epidemic of violence, the FBI has, in less than three years, formed more than 100 Safe Streets Task Forces with many of our state and local law enforcement partners; these task forces have proven to be very effective and should be expanded. Through the efforts of these task forces, we are not seeking to flood Federal courts with cases involving the commission of any violent crime. Indeed, many such cases should be, and are, tried in state courts. There is, however, an appropriate role for the Federal legal system to play. Using existing Federal statutes such as the Hobbs Act, RICO, ITAR, and narcotics laws, we can focus our efforts and resources on those criminal organizations, including gangs, which are responsible for a disproportionate amount of the violence in our Nation and have proven to be beyond the reach of state and local law enforcement. The FBI is, and must be, vigilant about the threats posed by Russian gangsters who, with the breakup of the former Soviet UniQn, have decided to pursue their illegal ventures in the United States, sometimes in tandem with the Mafia. Similar threats are posed by Asian drug dealers and triad members who-are ready to flee Hong Kong before it devolves to the People's Republic of China in 1997. We must provide greater international assistance in order to minimize the threat posed by these criminal elements. One investigative technique that the FBI has used very effectively against many criminal groups is wiretapping. The continued use of this technique, however, is threatened. Telephone's digital technology has advanced in such a way that criminals will be able to avoid law enforcement detection simply by using the telephone. They will be able to conduct their illicit businesses openly and without any fear of the consequences. In order to keep up with the criminals and to protect our national security, the solution is clear: we need legislation to ensure that telephone companies and other carriers provide law enforcement with access to this new technology. Without it, one can reasonably predict that in the future a major terrorist or criminal act will occur involving substantial loss of life. Such a tragedy that we could not prevent, because we could not learn critical information through electronic surveillance. That will not be the time to discuss what could have been or what should have been. That time is now. The fact that Americans are fed up with crime can actually provide us with a great source of strength. It can energize this great Country and enable our citizens to take back their streets, their neighborhoods, their towns, their cities. Rest assured, the FBI will continue to play a major role in that effort. As we move forward, I am mindful of the words of Theodore Roosevelt: "This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in, unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in."