PHILADELPHIA -- Even with murder and violent crime on the upswing after a decade of declines, the issue had been notably absent from the 2008 campaign debate -- until Friday when Sen. Hillary Clinton seized on it.

Speaking at a YMCA in West Philadelphia, Sen. Clinton laid out an agenda that she said would provide a $4-billion-a-year increase in federal spending to help cities halve the homicide rate.

The plan also would expand the Cops Hiring Program, a Justice Department initiative that provides direct funding to state and local agencies to pay for officers for community policing, with an additional grant to recruit 100,000 police officers and a $1-billion-a-year grant program for probation programs to help reduce repeat offenders.

Crime was a bigger issue in 1996 and 2000, when candidates vied openly for law-enforcement support. This year it has been largely missing from the campaign trail except for occasional mentions in the context of illegal immigration.

Sen. Barack Obama hasn't proposed a crime program, and neither of the Democratic contenders typically talks about crime on the stump. The issue also hasn't come up in recent presidential debates. The likely Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, doesn't list crime as a priority issue on his campaign Web site.

"We hope this is a sign all the candidates will take a serious look at the issue of crime and local law enforcement," said Gene Voegtlin of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which represents 18,000 chiefs and police executives.

The lack of focus on crime marks a shift. In 1988, Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, the Massachusetts governor, was criticized for a state program that allowed the release of Willie Horton, a felon who committed rape while on a furlough. In 1996, President Clinton touted the 1994 crime bill, which included an assault-weapons ban, and became the first Democrat since the Fraternal Order of Police was founded in 1915 to win the organization's support.

Even in 2000, a year in which crime was on the decline, Democratic nominee Al Gore warned of danger and pressed for a further 50,000 officers on the streets, beyond the 100,000 the Clinton administration had added.

Sen. Clinton's plan is reminiscent of the 1994 crime bill, which along with the assault-weapons ban provided 100,000 new police officers and $6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs.

With 10 days until the Pennsylvania primary, the Clinton campaign sees such proposals as a way to connect with voters here, an area that favors Sen. Obama and holds nearly half the state's Democratic delegates.

Since 2002, Philadelphia's murder rate has risen to more than 400 a year from fewer than 300 a year. It stands at three times the national average, and is at its highest rate in nearly 20 years. In the past three years, the number of police officers has been cut by 500.

"These are not just statistics, these are our children," Sen. Clinton said. "Enough with the talking, enough with the speeches, let's stick to what works."

Recent polls in Pennsylvania show the New York senator's lead over Sen. Obama narrowing from double-digits. A Temple University poll of likely Pennsylvania voters released this week put Sen. Clinton ahead by six percentage points, 47%-41%, against Sen. Obama.

The decrease in murders and violent crimes, which include homicides, forcible rape, aggravated assault and robbery, began in 1992 and continued every year until 2005 when it rose slightly to 469 violent crimes per 100,000 citizens from 463 per 100,000 residents in 2004.

Cuts in federal funding to local agencies mean that even as the crime rate increases there are fewer police officers.

Sen. Clinton's initiatives drew a mixed response. James Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents more than 320,000 sworn law-enforcement officers, said he welcomes the discussion but doubts the plan will actually provide 100,000 officers.

"What a president puts in the budget, what is authorized and what gets appropriated are three different things," Mr. Pasco said. "How politicians can suggest or commit to spend more out of a pot that consistently shrinks is beyond me."

The campaign said the plan would be financed by cutting corporate subsidies.

By AMY CHOZICK and GARY FIELDS, The Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2008