Statement by the President Upon Making Public an FBI Report on the Recent Urban Riots.

TOGETHER with all Americans, I have been disturbed by the riots which took place this past summer in some of our cities. The preservation of order in such circumstances is the responsibility of the local communities and the States, but the fact that such riots can occur is a matter of national concern as well as personal concern to me.

I have today asked Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to make public a report summarizing the available facts developed by the Bureau on the causes and development of these riots.

Mr. Hoover's report indicates that:

--No definite pattern was found to exist in connection with the riots from one city to another.

--The riots did not have a single cause and cannot be attributed to any identifiable group of individuals.

--The riots occurred in communities with economic and social problems crying out for solution.

--Local police acted with great restraint in the face of violent abuse.

--The riots, as well as other criminal and juvenile delinquency problems in our cities, are closely connected to school dropouts.

--The mass of people in each community, white and Negro alike, deplored the riots and have cooperated to maintain law and order.

--Each riot began with a single incident and was aggravated by hoodlums and habitual lawbreakers.

--No evidence was found that the riots were organized on a national basis by any single person, group of persons, or organization.

I have taken several steps as a result of this report:

First, I have directed the FBI through its National Academy to make riot training available for all police departments in the United States.

Second, I have instructed the Secretary of Defense to enlarge the program of the United States Army for demonstration techniques of riot control. We will make these techniques a larger part of the training of the National Guard of the various States and we will make them available to local police forces as well.

Third, I have directed Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make a study of the dropout program followed in the District of Columbia--one of the most intensive in the Nation--and other places, and to make recommendations to me as soon as possible on what further steps might be taken by the Federal Government to assist in meeting this important problem.

Fourth, at an appropriate time I intend to call a conference of State and city officials to discuss ways in which the Federal Government can continue to be of assistance in this whole area.

Most Americans have a deep commitment to civil peace. I call upon all our fellow citizens to remember that respect for law and order and regard for each person's rights are the cornerstones of self-government in a democracy.

This administration feels strongly that this must be a society of law and order in which citizens live by recognized rules of conduct. To that end we not only enforce Federal acts but cooperate at all levels of government to assure that civil peace shall be maintained.

Every citizen, regardless of his race, creed, or color, is entitled to equal justice. And every citizen is entitled to be secure in his person on our city streets or in the countryside.

The FBI in the first 8 months of this year has attended 172 police training schools throughout the Nation where the attendance has totaled more than 5,800 law enforcement officers and has offered advice and counsel. In addition, the FBI has sponsored just this summer 228 conferences which were attended by 20,184 people representing 6,406 police agencies on the problems of securing law and justice.

We will continue this kind of cooperation so our citizens may live in dignity and in security.