The United States needs to overhaul its law-enforcement system

　　美國(guó)需要改革其執(zhí)法系統(tǒng)

THE store camera tells a harrowing tale. John Crawford was standing in a Walmart in Ohio holding an air rifle—a toy he had picked off a shelf and was presumably planning to buy. He was pointing it at the floor while talking on his phone and browsing other goods. The children playing near him did not consider him a threat; nor did their mother, who was standing a few feet away. The police, responding to a 911 caller who said that a black man with a gun was threatening people, burst in and shot him dead. The children’s mother died of a heart attack in the ensuing panic. In September a grand jury declined to indict the officers who shot Mr Crawford.

　　商店的攝像頭講述了一個(gè)悲慘的故事。John Crawford在俄亥俄州沃爾瑪里抓著一把玩具氣槍。他剛剛從架子上挑選這把玩具氣槍，也許正打算買。他邊打電話并瀏覽其他商品，并用槍瞄準(zhǔn)地面。他附近玩的孩子們與站在幾英尺之外孩子們的母親都沒(méi)有感受到威脅。突然，警察突然沖進(jìn)來(lái)開槍將他打死，僅僅因?yàn)橐煌ā罢f(shuō)有個(gè)黑人正在持槍搶劫”的911來(lái)電。那位母親因此由于恐慌而死于心臟病。在9月份，大陪審團(tuán)拒絕起訴軍官Crawford。

Most people have probably never heard this story, for such tragedies are disturbingly common: America’s police shoot dead more than one person a day (nobody knows the exact number as not all deaths are reported). But two recent cases have sparked nationwide protests. First Michael Brown, a black teenager, was shot dead in murky circumstances in Ferguson, Missouri, just after he robbed a shop, and then Eric Garner, a harmless middle-aged black man guilty only of selling single cigarettes on the streets of New York, was choked to death by a policeman while five cops watched—and this time the event was filmed by a bystander.

　　大多數(shù)人可能從未聽說(shuō)過(guò)這個(gè)故事,這樣的悲劇是令人不安的是常見的——美國(guó)的警察一天擊斃的人不止一個(gè)(沒(méi)有人知道確切數(shù)字,因?yàn)椴⒉皇撬械乃劳龆紩?huì)被報(bào)道)。但最近的兩個(gè)案例引發(fā)了全國(guó)性的抗議。第一個(gè)是黑人少年Michael Brown，在他剛剛搶劫了一家商店之后不久,就在密蘇里州弗格森一個(gè)黑暗的環(huán)境里被槍殺了。第二個(gè)是中年黑人Eric Garner，僅僅因?yàn)樵诩~約的街道上販賣散包煙而被認(rèn)為有罪。他被其中一名警察窒息致死，而周圍有五名警察圍觀。這一次的事件被一個(gè)路人記錄了下來(lái)。

So far much of the debate within America has focused on race. That is not unreasonable: the victims were all black, and most of the policemen involved were white. American blacks feel that the criminal-justice system works against them, rather than for them. Some 59% of white Americans have confidence in the police, but only 37% of blacks do. This is poisonous: if any racial group distrusts the enforcers of the law, it erodes the social contract. It also hurts America’s moral standing in the world . But racial division, rooted as it is in America’s past, is not easily mitigated.

　　在美國(guó)有不少的爭(zhēng)論是關(guān)于人種問(wèn)題的。這也并不是沒(méi)有緣由的——受害者都是黑色的,大多數(shù)參與的警察卻是白人。美國(guó)的黑人群體覺得刑事司法系統(tǒng)是針對(duì)的他們而不是對(duì)白人。大約有59%的美國(guó)白人信任警察,黑人群體中僅僅只有37%。這是有害的——如果任何種族群體不信任的執(zhí)法人員,這將不利于維持社會(huì)秩序。同時(shí)，它還傷害了美國(guó)在世界上道德方面的地位。但是，源于美國(guó)過(guò)去歷史的種族分裂，很難輕易緩解。

There is, however, another prism through which to examine these grim stories: the use of excessive violence by the state . It, too, has complex origins, but quite a lot of them may be susceptible to reform. In many cases Americans simply do not realise how capricious and violent their law-enforcement system is compared with those of other rich countries. It could be changed in ways that would make America safer, and fairer to both blacks and whites.

　　然而,另一個(gè)視角來(lái)審視這些殘酷的事件，都是由于過(guò)度的使用暴力。它也許有復(fù)雜的起源,但大多都很容去改變。在大多數(shù)情況下,美國(guó)人根本沒(méi)有意識(shí)他們的執(zhí)法系統(tǒng)與其他發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家相比是多么的反復(fù)無(wú)常和充滿暴力。它的改變將使美國(guó)更加穩(wěn)定，黑人與白人之間更加公平。

Don’t shoot

Bits of America’s criminal-justice system are exemplary—New York’s cops pioneered data-driven policing, for instance—but overall the country is an outlier for all the wrong reasons. It jails nearly 1% of its adult population, more than five times the rich-country average. A black American man has, by one estimate, a one in three chance of spending time behind bars. Sentences are harsh. Some American states impose life without parole for persistent but non-violent offenders; no other rich nation does. America’s police are motivated to be rapacious: laws allow them to seize assets they merely suspect are linked to a crime and then spend the proceeds on equipment. And, while other nations have focused on community policing, some American police have become paramilitary, equipping themselves with grenade launchers and armoured cars. The number of raids by heavily armed SWAT teams has risen from 3,000 a year in 1980 to 50,000 today, by one estimate.

不要開槍

少量的美國(guó)的刑事司法系統(tǒng)是值得效仿的。紐約的警察首創(chuàng)根據(jù)數(shù)據(jù)維持治安。例如,整個(gè)國(guó)家是錯(cuò)誤的原因的局外人。美國(guó)監(jiān)禁了近1%的成年人口,這是其他發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家的平均水平五倍多。據(jù)估計(jì),美國(guó)黑人男子,有三分之一時(shí)間花在酒吧里。懲罰是嚴(yán)厲的。美國(guó)的一些州會(huì)有非暴力罪犯施加無(wú)假釋終身監(jiān)禁;其他發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家并不會(huì)這么做。美國(guó)警察貪婪的動(dòng)機(jī)是:法律允許他們得到與犯罪的資產(chǎn),并且將收益花在裝備上。然而，其他的洲則集中在社區(qū)治安,一些美國(guó)警察已經(jīng)成為準(zhǔn)軍事武裝，自己擁有榴彈發(fā)射器和裝甲車。據(jù)估計(jì)，全副武裝的特警隊(duì)的突然襲數(shù)量從3000起一年50000。

Above all, American law enforcement is unusually lethal: even the partial numbers show that the police shot and killed at least 458 people last year. By comparison, those in England and Wales shot and killed no one.

　　最重要的是,美國(guó)的執(zhí)法通常是致命的:甚至有部分?jǐn)?shù)據(jù)顯示,在過(guò)去一年警察開槍打死了至少458人。相比之下,在英格蘭和威爾士卻沒(méi)有一人開槍致死。

Fewer armoured cars, more body cameras

One reason why so many American police shoot first is that so many American civilians are armed. This year 46 policemen were shot dead; last year 52,000 were assaulted. When a policeman is called out to interrupt a robbery, he knows that one mistake could mean he never makes it to retirement. As this newspaper has often pointed out, guns largely explain why America’s murder rate is several times that of other rich countries. And the vastly disparate rate at which policemen shoot young black men is not simply a matter of prejudice. Roughly 29% of Americans shot by the police are black, but so are about 42% of cop killers whose race is known.

不要裝甲車，要隨身相機(jī)　

　　許多警察第一次射擊的原因一是美國(guó)的平民武裝。今年有46位警察被擊斃;去年有52000人受到攻擊。當(dāng)一名警察接到電話去阻止一次搶劫,他明白一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤可能意味著退休。正如本報(bào)經(jīng)常指出的那樣,槍支在很大程度上解釋了為什么美國(guó)的謀殺率是其他發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家的幾倍。年輕黑人占據(jù)截然不同的比例可能不僅僅是一種偏見。被警察射殺的大約有29%是黑人,但大約有42%種族未知的警察殺人犯。

If America did not have 300m guns in circulation, much of this would change. That, sadly, is not going to happen soon. But there are other ways to make the police less violent.

　　如果美國(guó)沒(méi)有300m步槍的循環(huán)使用,情況將會(huì)有效的改變。但這種情形并不會(huì)很快發(fā)生。好在，我們還有其他方法來(lái)使警方減少暴力。

The first is transparency. Every police force should report how many people it kills to the federal government. And if communities want to buy gadgets, they should give their police body cameras. These devices deter bad behaviour on both sides and make investigations easier. Had the officer who shot Mr Brown worn one, everyone would know how it happened.

　　首先是透明度。每位警察都應(yīng)該向聯(lián)邦政府報(bào)告殺死了多少人。如果社區(qū)想買裝備,他們應(yīng)該給警察隨身相機(jī)。這些設(shè)備將阻止雙方的不良行為,并且會(huì)使調(diào)查更容易。如果真的有警察射殺了Brown先生這一件事,每個(gè)人都應(yīng)該知道這是如何發(fā)生的。

The second is accountability: it must be easier to sack bad cops. Many of America’s 12,500 local police departments are tiny and internal disciplinary panels may consist of three fellow officers, one of whom is named by the officer under investigation. If an officer is accused of a crime, the decision as to whether to indict him may rest with a local prosecutor who works closely with the local police, attends barbecues with them and depends on the support of the police union if he or she wants to be re-elected. Or it may rest with a local “grand jury” of civilians, who hear only what the prosecutor wants them to hear. To improve accountability, complaints should be heard by independent arbiters, brought in from outside.

　　第二個(gè)是問(wèn)責(zé)制。問(wèn)責(zé)制地能輕松解雇品行不端的警察。在美國(guó)的12500個(gè)本地警察部門規(guī)模都很小，內(nèi)部紀(jì)律小組可能由三個(gè)警官組成,其中一個(gè)警官會(huì)被調(diào)查。如果一個(gè)警官被指控犯罪，是否起訴他將取決于與當(dāng)?shù)鼐烀芮械漠?dāng)?shù)貦z察官、參加聚會(huì)的情況。如果他或她想要連任還需要依靠警察工會(huì)的支持。問(wèn)責(zé)制也有可能取決于當(dāng)?shù)仄矫竦摹按笈銓張F(tuán)”，“大陪審團(tuán)”只聽從檢察官希望他們所聽的從。投訴應(yīng)該聽從獨(dú)立的仲裁者從外面帶來(lái)的信息以改善問(wèn)責(zé)制。

The third, and hardest, is reversing the militarisation of the police. Too many see their job as to wage war on criminals; too many poor neighbourhoods see the police as an occupying army. The police need more training and less weaponry: for a start, the Pentagon should stop handing out military kit to neighbourhood cops.

　　第三點(diǎn)，也是最難做到的一點(diǎn)，就是國(guó)民經(jīng)濟(jì)軍事化。太多人認(rèn)為警察這項(xiàng)職業(yè)就如同發(fā)動(dòng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的罪犯,甚至很多貧困的人將警察認(rèn)為是雇傭軍。警察需要更多的培訓(xùn)以及更少的武器。其中首先要做的就是,五角大樓應(yīng)該停止發(fā)放軍事裝備給社區(qū)警察。

In many ways America remains a model for other countries. Its economic engine has roared back to life. Its values are ones which decent people should want to spread. Yet its criminal-justice system, the backbone of any society, is deeply flawed. Changing it will be hard; but change is overdue.

　　在很多方面，美國(guó)依然是其他國(guó)家的典范。它的經(jīng)濟(jì)引擎對(duì)著生命咆哮，他的價(jià)值觀只是富人想要傳播的。但它作為社會(huì)的支柱的刑事司法體系卻是漏洞百出。改變現(xiàn)狀將非常艱難，但絕對(duì)沒(méi)有過(guò)時(shí)。