George Pataki on Crime Republican NY Governor

People must be held accountable for their actions

• I believe that government's fundamental purpose should be to empower the people we serve--to enact the policies that create opportunity and unleash the enormous creativity, industry and entrepreneurial spirit that characterize New Yorkers.

• I believe a government has no greater responsibility than the safety and security of its citizens and that people must be held accountable for their actions.

• I believe that we have a moral responsibility to help those who truly need our help, and also to leave our next generation a natural environment that is cleaner and better protected than we found it.

• I believe that government should not simply hand people a living, but it must ensure that they have every opportunity to earn one for themselves.

• I believe in a government that works tirelessly to preserve and uphold the freedom of its citizens and takes great care in ensuring it never impinges upon it.

Abolished parole for violent felons

By fighting for "bold, sweeping, fundamental change" to our criminal justice system. We instituted the death penalty. We abolished parole for violent felons.

We gave police new tools like DNA technology to help them get criminals off our streets and out of our neighborhoods. We passed 108 new laws that toughened penalties or closed criminal-friendly loopholes.

Operation IMPACT: focus police in high crime upstate cities

And this year, Rochester, the first IMPACT site, has experienced 1/3 fewer murders, including a 66% drop in murders of our most at-risk population--young African American men. The "bold, sweeping, fundamental changes" we enacted together have saved lives and made New Yorkers safer. But we can do even more, and we will

Today, I am proud to announce Operation IMPACT II, which will expand the program within the original IMPACT counties, add 100 more State Troopers to this effort, and bring new IMPACT operations to other parts of the State.

Instituted death penalty in NY

Supports flexible federal block grants for crime programs.

The Issue

The major crime issues for the 107th Congress will be:
• reauthorization of the juvenile justice program, which established a block grant to states for prevention and delinquency intervention programs;
• reauthorization of programs in the 1994 crime bill, including the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP), a reimbursement program to state and local governments for housing illegal alien prisoners;
• the state prison grants program, formally known as the Violent Offender Incarceration/Truth-in-Sentencing (VOI/TIS) grant program, [where states receive funds based on increasing the percentage of prison sentences actually served]; and
• the Byrne block grant program, a flexible block grant that states use for innovative crime and illegal drug fighting programs.

NGA’s Position

• NGA policy calls for reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) and supports the underlying principles of the act. However, NGA wants some flexibility in the core requirements, e.g., allowing some accidental contact between adults and juveniles; expanding the hours before removal from 24 hours to 48 hours; holding certain incorrigible juveniles in detention; and relaxing the disproportionate minority confinement record keeping process. The Governors urge maximum flexibility to implement the spirit and purpose of the act.
• The Governors support authorization of the juvenile accountability incentive block grant (JAIBG) program.
• The Governors also support reauthorization of SCAAP and seek to raise the reimbursement ratio.
• For the Byrne block grant program, NGA seeks to continue the current program with flexibility.
• For the state prison grants program, NGA seeks to abolish all requirements and have more flexibility, with the state designating the offender population to be served.