The introductory paper notes that the major recommendations of the Federal Task Force on Violent Crime include Federal funding for State prison construction and reforms in the exclusionary rule, the trial of cases involving the insanity defense, and bail laws. Essays then argue the pros and cons of retaining, modifying, or abolishing the exclusionary rule. In the latter case, a criminal procedure ombudsman is offered as an alternative to the exclusionary rule as a means of addressing police abuses in the obtaining of evidence. An essay focusing on intergovernmental cooperation in fighting violent crime maintains that the Federal Government should support local and State officials in their efforts to apprehend and prosecute habitual and violent offenders by providing financial aid and extending Federal jurisdiction to crimes committed by aliens. Examples of career criminal police and prosecution programs in New York are then presented. An examination of the LEAA experience with Federal involvement in State and local criminal justice enterprises suggests that the overriding lesson of the LEAA experience is that if Federal aid is to achieve measurable impact, it must be aimed at innovative programs that work and not spent randomly on routine operations. The roles of the U.S. Marshals Service in the fugitive warrants and witness protection programs are discussed, and requirements for improvement are offered. Another essay holds that the only hope for reducing the crime rate is in decreasing the net advantage of committing crimes by increasing the expected severity of punishments and the probability of suffering them rather than through rehabilitation. Following a proposal for congressional action to reform Federal habeas corpus, Detroit's mandatory sentencing law applied to the use of a gun in the commission of a felony is examined as a basis for critiquing the likelihood of the effectiveness of a similar proposal in the Task Force's recommendations. For individual entries, see NCJ 88027-37.