Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

Long title	An Act to Control and Prevent Crime
Nicknames	1994 Crime Bill
Enacted by	the 103rd United States Congress
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 103–322
Statutes at Large	108 Stat. 1796
Codification
Titles amended	12 U.S.C.: Banks and Banking 18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure 42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare
U.S.C. sections created	42 U.S.C. ch. 136
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 3355 by Jack Brooks (D–TX) on October 26, 1993 Committee consideration by House Judiciary Passed the House on November 3, 1993 (voice vote) Passed the Senate on November 19, 1993 (95–4, in lieu of S. 1607) Reported by the joint conference committee on August 10 and 21, 1994; agreed to by the House on August 21, 1994 (235–195) and by the Senate on August 25, 1994 (61–38) Signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994

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The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, commonly referred to as the 1994 Crime Bill,^[1] or the Clinton Crime Bill,^[2] is an Act of Congress dealing with crime and law enforcement; it became law in 1994. It is the largest crime bill in the history of the United States and consisted of 356 pages that provided for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons which were designed with significant input from experienced police officers.^[3] Sponsored by U.S. Representative Jack Brooks of Texas,^[4] the bill was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.^[5] Then-Senator Joe Biden of Delaware drafted the Senate version of the legislation in cooperation with the National Association of Police Organizations, also incorporating the Assault Weapons ban and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) with Senator Orrin Hatch.^[6][7]

The Violent Crime Prevention and Law Enforcement Act was first conceived by the government in the early 1990s, with Senator Joe Biden, then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, playing a major role in drafting the law. Biden worked closely with law enforcement officials, especially the National Police Officers Association, due to his keenness to reduce crime and impose security and peace in the United States. Biden developed measures aimed at reducing crime by formulating some basic concepts on how to avoid crimes or punish criminals with severe penalties. He also added that when drafting the law, certain strategies should be used to help punish and rehabilitate prisoners. He also said that the National Association of Police Organizations played a major role in drafting the bill by formulating policies that were fully aligned with the priorities of law enforcement agencies across the United States. More deeply, the police, due to their many patrols in areas where crimes are rampant, helped reduce those risks because the police arrested a large percentage of drug dealers, gangs and criminals. The bill initially met with bipartisan criticism as it made its way through Congress. Republicans argued that the bill would provide significant funding for crime prevention programs that purported to be social rehabilitation, while drug treatment programs and youth crime initiatives could cost the state a lot of money but could be ineffective. They argued that punitive measures could be easier and more effective.^[8]

Following the 101 California Street shooting, the 1993 Waco Siege, and other high-profile instances of violent crime, the Act expanded federal law in several ways. One of the most noted sections was the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Other parts of the Act provided for a greatly expanded federal death penalty, new classes of individuals banned from possessing firearms, and a variety of new crimes defined in statutes relating to hate crimes, sex crimes, and gang-related crime. The bill also required states to establish registries for sexual offenders by September 1997.