Clinton and Bush's Report Cards on Crime Reduction: The Data Show Bush Policies Are Undermining Clinton Gains

At the Democratic Convention Clinton argued that he had put police on the street and took guns off, but that Bush has done the opposite. Was Clinton truly more anti-crime? I estimate that Clinton-era federal programs were responsible for a six to eight percent reduction in crime seen in the last decade. The Bush administration has failed to build on the Clinton administration's success in funding more police. For no good reason, a crime-control program that has a very favorable benefit/cost ratio is being cut back.