Pres. Ford's State of the Union speeches: on Crime

To be effective, punishment must be swift and certain

My recommendations on how to control violent crime [have a] strong emphasis on protecting the innocent victims of crime. To keep a convicted criminal from committing more crimes, we must put him in prison so he cannot harm more law-abiding citizens. To be effective, this punishment must be swift and it must be certain.

Too often, criminals are not sent to prison after conviction but are allowed to return to the streets. My new budget proposes the construction of four new Federal facilities. To speed Federal justice, I propose an increase in the US attorneys prosecuting Federal crimes and the reinforcement of the number of US marshals.