Crime statistics show that in 1980, Washington, D.C., (population, 650,000) had more criminal homicides than Sweden and Denmark combined (aggregate population of more than 12 million). New York City, with the same population as Sweden, has 20 times as many homicides. More than one quarter of all the households in this country are victimized by some kind of criminal activity at least once a year. Thousands of felonies go unreported every year in New York City alone; 'The New York Times' recently reported that the chances of any felony arrestee in New York being punished in any way, apart from the arrest record, were 108 to 1. Deterrence is the primary core of any response to the reign of terror in American cities. The first step in achieving deterrence is to have larger and better trained police forces. The second step is to reexamine pretrial release statutes. Some immediate steps which should be considered are outlined, including provision for trial within weeks after arrest and supplying postrelease counseling.