Release #215-98

Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Dwight Williams (212) 788-2972

"New York City is leading the nation in crime reduction," Mayor Giuliani said. "Over the last five years, crime in the City has been reduced by 48 percent. But there is so much more left to be done. As I outlined last October, we must move to make this decline in crime permanent by launching a major assault against drug dealing and abuse. Drugs are at the core of most crime -- robbing people of their independence, destroying families and tearing neighborhoods apart.

"Today, I call on New Yorkers to join our efforts to remove drugs from our streets," the Mayor continued. "City residents, whose quality of life has been impacted by local area drug dealers, can provide police with information on illegal activity. Subways and buses throughout the City will carry the hotline number -- 1-888-374-DRUG -- and our anti-drug message to all New Yorkers. Working together, we can remove drugs from our communities.

"I want to thank the creative team at McCann-Erickson for their work on behalf of this important project. I urge all New Yorkers with information about illegal drug activity to please call the anti-drug hotline," the Mayor concluded.

Police Commissioner Safir said, "We know that drug trade drives the rate of violent crime. We have had significant success in our efforts to drive dealers out of the City. However, the police cannot do it alone. We are counting on the people of New York -- the people in every neighborhood, who really know what is going on -- to come forward and help us out. Obviously, not every New Yorker can be a police officer, but every one of us can do our part in the war against drugs. Call the hotline and give us the information to put drug dealers out of business."

Joining the Mayor and the Police Commissioner at today's City Hall event was Kevin Allen, Executive Vice President of McCann-Erickson, who headed this project.

Kevin Allen of McCann-Erickson said, "Not only was McCann delighted to accept the City's invitation to work on this project, but everyone involved with it found it personally rewarding. It is a great feeling to be able to contribute to an effort that literally will help keep our families safe."

The Police Department's anti-drug hotline is for non-emergency calls only. New Yorkers should continue to call 911 for all emergencies, including crimes in progress. All calls to the anti-drug hotline will be kept confidential. Information obtained from the hotline will be analyzed and forwarded to the appropriate Borough Command. The hotline is staffed by trained narcotics officers, who speak a variety of languages.

Last October, Mayor Giuliani announced a comprehensive program to remove drugs from the City's neighborhoods and schools through a coordinated law enforcement, treatment and educational effort.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Eight hundred police officers will graduate from the Academy this July and will join the anti-drug campaign.
• Five anti-drug initiatives are now in operation, with four new initiatives scheduled to be fully operational by July.
• Seven parks are now drug-free zones, including Washington Square Park in Manhattan.
• The number of Drug Free School Zones has been increased from 40 to 100 citywide. The number of schools in the Safe Corridor Program has been doubled from 120 to 240.

• The number of citywide treatment beds at Rikers Island has been increased to 900 with 648 beds to be in operation by the end of June.
• The Department of Correction has implemented new treatment programs.
• The Department of Probation has increased residential and outpatient treatment capacity.
• The Administration of Children's Services and the Health and Hospitals Corporation is providing drug treatment services to substance abusing women with children in foster care in Brooklyn with Citywide implementation scheduled for 1999.

• Support for the DARE program -- where police officers teach elementary school students about the dangers of drugs -- has been increased in public schools throughout the City.
• The number of Beacon Schools has been expanded from 41 to 79.
• Police officers, in partnership with the New York City Housing Authority's Community Center Counselors, are providing modified DARE programs and Gang Resistance programs at housing developments.

In addition to the advertisements displayed on subways and buses, 55,000 posters have been sent to various City agencies and community centers for display.