The two official measures of all crime nationwide, including violent crime, are the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). According to UCR data, the rate of violent crime increased from an estimated 199 crimes committed per 100,000 persons in 1965 to a high of 758 crimes per 100,000 in 1991, then declined slightly in 1992 and again in 1993. The highest homicide rate occurred in 1980. The NCVS reports the annual results of a household survey of those victimized by violent crime. Violent crimes, including rape robbery, and assault, rose 24 percent from 1973 to 1992. The NCVS data show a decline in the violent- crime rate since the peak in 1981. Statistics on violent adult offenders suggest that recidivism is a significant factor in the Nation's violent crime problem. The National Institute of Justice reported 1992 data from its Drug Use Forecasting Program, showing that the percentage of males arrested for any reason that tested positive for drug use in its sample at any one site ranged from 47 to 78 percent. During a recent study concerning firearms and violent crime, the National Academy of Sciences Panel on the Understanding and Control of Violent Behavior found that greater firearm availability is positively associated with higher rates of murder and felony gun use, but does not show a significant statistical effect on general violence levels. The Federal Government has attempted to address violent crime in an omnibus anticrime bill, H.R. 3355, and a recent National Criminal Justice Association review of State-of-the-State addresses by the Nation's Governors found that crime control, particularly the management of violent, repeat offenders, was among governors' top 1994 State legislative priorities. 73 footnotes and 9 figures