Statement by the President Concerning the Report of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice.

THE MEMBERS of the Crime Commission, its able staff and the hundreds of expert consultants and advisers who assisted them, have performed a great service to the Nation.

The report they have produced analyzes the tremendous complexity of modern crime:

--from the sad antics of a disorderly drunk to the terrifying violence of a demented killer

--from the first offense of a 15-year-old boy, to the corrupting schemes of a racketeer.

This report--and the supporting volumes that will follow it--is a major work of scholarship.

It is also a call to urgent action. It gives us the most comprehensive and detailed program for meeting the challenge of crime ever proposed in this country.

The basic message of this report is made dear in its final words: "Controlling crime in America is an endeavor that will be slow and hard and costly. But America can control crime if it will."

Earlier this month, in a special message on crime to the Congress, I expressed the will and the determination of this administration to act. I earnestly hope and expect Congress will respond by enacting legislation against the challenge crime presents to every American--to his person, his pocketbook, or his peace of mind.

But--as this report again reminds us-while the crime crisis may have become a national concern, it will not yield only to Federal funds and technical assistance.

Governors and State legislatures must act. Mayors, judges, police chiefs, prosecutors, and correctional officials must act.

Newspaper editors, clergymen, and civic leaders must act.

They must all be willing to examine the problem of crime, and the means their States and cities are taking to combat it. Where there is need for change, they must be willing to change. Where there is need for a greater commitment of men and resources, it must be made.

For too long, the public has listened to such martial phrases as the "challenge of crime" and has heard them only as platitudes. The challenge of this report--to all levels of government and to all citizens--is not one of platitudes but one of facts. It deals with a critical human problem--that, like poverty, disease, and ignorance, brings sorrow and economic loss to millions of our people.

And like those other enemies of mankind. it can be controlled--if we will to do so.