美国国家公共电台 NPR--Do special police units deter crime or lead to more prosecutions and convictions?

Do special police units deter¹ crime or lead to more prosecutions² and convictions?

Transcript³

NPR's A Martinez talks to Paul Butler — law professor at Georgetown University, and author of the book Chokehold: Policing Black Men — about the culture and tactics of special police units.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In Memphis, two more police officers have been suspended as city officials continue to investigate the death of Tyre Nichols. Last week, the five officers who were seen on video brutally⁴ beating Nichols were fired and charged with murder. They were part of a now disbanded special unit dedicated⁵ to cracking down on street crime. For more on the tactics and culture behind these special units, I'm joined now by Paul Butler, a law professor at Georgetown University and author of the book "Chokehold: Policing Black Men." Professor, is there any evidence to suggest that these special units actually deter crime or maybe lead to more prosecutions and convictions?

PAUL BUTLER: The evidence is quite mixed. If the units actually made communities safer, maybe their rough tactics would be acceptable to some people. But we know that people in the community sometimes experience this policing as a violent occupation, and that actually undermines law enforcement. When a crime goes down in the hood⁶, people know who did it. The way that officers make cases isn't mainly chasing down bad guys. It's kind of like what you see on "Law & Order." The cops sit in people's kitchens and workplaces, talking. And if your experience with the police is that they're the ones who pulled you over for no reason or pushed your grandbaby against the wall, you don't want to talk to them.

MART?NEZ: So are there ways, then, to make these special units work? Would just talking to people more than roughing them up work better?

BUTLER: There are best practices for these units. The officers should be highly experienced and carefully selected, not based on their aggression⁷ or number of arrests made, but for their ability to work with the communities they're supposed to serve and protect. And when a squad⁸ is making an arrest, there should be one commanding officer, and she should be the only person giving orders. And all of that's the opposite of what happened to Mr. Nichols. He was given confusing, contradictory⁹ commands - lie on the ground, when he was already lying on the ground; show us your hands, when officers were restraining his hands. What the cops seem to have been doing is creating a narrative¹⁰ for the video to try to justify¹¹ their violence.

MART?NEZ: So, professor, if there's no real evidence to know that these special units make neighborhoods safer, I mean, what type of policing would?

BUTLER: So President Biden called this case a test of whether we are the country we say we are. At this moment, we're the country where an American citizen, guilty of no more than a traffic violation¹², was tortured and killed on public streets by agents of the government. The problem is larger than bad apple cops. The problem is too entrenched¹³ to be solved by reform. The violent policing that occurs in communities of color is inconsistent with public safety. It's not consistent with equal justice under the law. So, A, I think if we're the country we say we are - our American spirit of innovation, our Black genius - but we have to use those tools to reimagine community well-being¹⁴ from the ground up.

MART?NEZ: Another thing, professor. We rarely see police officers fired in these kinds of situations. These five were charged very, very quickly. What was different this time around?

BUTLER: So what was different is that the Movement for Black Lives has educated the country about police violence that people of color have complained about a long time. Now prosecutors¹⁵ understand that. The public understands that. So it's easier for prosecutors to win these cases. Of course, the other difference is that these officers were African American. And some people say that makes these charges easier because in every aspect of the criminal justice system, Black people are treated differently. Last comment - if these officers weren't in badges and uniforms, on another day, these young Black men might have met the same fate as Mr. Nichols.

MART?NEZ: That's Paul Butler, law professor at Georgetown University. Thank you.

BUTLER: Always a pleasure.

1 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

2 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

5 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

6 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

7 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

8 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

9 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

10 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

11 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

12 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

13 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

14 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

15 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。