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#340 | 美国首都竟成犯罪天堂：政府推诿、法官空缺、管理不力
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这篇新闻报道指出，尽管全球大城市的暴力犯罪率在下降，但美国首都华盛顿的暴力犯罪却逆势上升。枪支的泛滥导致许多小争执升级为谋杀案，今年以来已有超过200人被谋杀。这与全国趋势背道而驰。华盛顿特区的治安问题部分归咎于地方政府的失职，同时也与联邦政府对该地区的管控有关。
为什么美国的首都充斥着暴力？In most big cities violent crime is declining. In Washington the opposite is true在大多数大城市，暴力犯罪正在下降。但在华盛顿，情况正好相反
Though he has a black belt in karate, when a trio of armed boys in ski masks threatened Henry Cuellar, a congressman from Texas, outside his Navy Yard flat on October 2nd he swiftly handed over the keys to his Toyota Crossover. It was the 754th carjacking in America’s capital this year, amounting to roughly three a day since January. And it was not the first attack on a member of Congress. In February Angie Craig of Minnesota heroically fended off a man who grabbed her by the neck in the lift of the building where she stays near the Capitol.虽然他拥有空手道黑带，但当三名戴滑雪面具的武装小伙于10月2日在海军码头附近的公寓外威胁德克萨斯州国会议员亨利·库亚尔时，他迅速交出了他的丰田车钥匙。这是今年在美国首都发生的第754起汽车劫持案，自1月份以来平均每天发生约三起。这也不是国会议员遭受的首次攻击。今年2月，明尼苏达州的安吉·克雷格在她靠近国会大厦的住所的电梯里英勇地击退了一名抓住她脖子的男子。
carjack
音标：[ˈkɑrˌdʒæk]
主要意思：抢劫汽车，劫持车辆
例句：She was a victim of a carjacking when someone forced her out of her car at gunpoint.
其他相关单词：
Robbery: 抢劫
Hijack: 劫持，劫机
Theft: 盗窃
Kidnap: 绑架
Burglary: 入室抢劫
Because the District of Columbia is not a state, the federal government has an unusual amount of say in its affairs. In March Congress reversed a revision to Washington’s criminal code passed by the district council which, among many other changes, dropped mandatory minimum sentences for carjacking. It was the first time Congress had nixed a local law in three decades. Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s minority leader, warned that the district’s “soft-on-crime” leaders needed “adult supervision”. By summer’s end three Republican congressmen had filed a bill to dissolve the council and mayor’s office and put federal lawmakers in charge.这是因为哥伦比亚特区不是一个州，联邦政府在其事务中具有不同寻常的发言权。今年3月，国会推翻了哥伦比亚特区议会通过的对其刑法的修订，其中包括取消汽车劫持的强制最低刑期。这是国会三十年来首次废除地方法律。参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔警告称，该地区的“刑罚软弱派”领导人需要“成年人的监督”。到夏季结束时，三名共和党国会议员提出了一项法案，解散议会和市长办公室，并由联邦议员接管事务。
Local government is certainly to blame for some of dc’s problems. Washington’s crime lab, a district agency responsible for processing forensic data, lost its accreditation in the spring of 2021 after it repeatedly tried to cover up mistakes it had made. Data from the first nine months after it closed show that just 7% of dna samples collected at crime scenes were analysed. That made some cases impossible to prosecute. The lab is now seeking re-accreditation, two and a half years later. But even if it resumes work, Matthew Graves, Washington’s chief prosecutor, expects substantial litigation over whether courts can recognise the scientists at the lab as forensic experts again.地方政府确实应该为华盛顿的一些问题负责。华盛顿的犯罪实验室是一个负责处理法医数据的地区机构，在2021年春季因为多次试图掩盖错误而失去了认证。该实验室关闭后的前九个月的数据显示，仅有7%的犯罪现场收集的DNA样本得到了分析。这导致一些案件无法起诉。两年半之后的现在，该实验室正在寻求重新获得认证。但即使它恢复工作，华盛顿的首席检察官马修·格雷夫斯预计会有大量的诉讼，争议焦点是法院是否能再次承认该实验室的科学家为法医专家。
Letting the House of Representatives run the District would be no magic fix, however (especially given its own penchant for disorder). In fact, the current degree of federal involvement seems to be hindering Washington’s ability to ward off crime. Criminal-justice research suggests that people are not deterred from committing crimes based on the severity of punishment, but rather on whether it is certain and swift. The federal government’s chokehold on the district complicates both.然而，让众议院管理华盛顿并不能奏效（尤其考虑到它自己对混乱的倾向）。事实上，目前联邦政府对华盛顿的介入程度似乎妨碍了其应对犯罪的能力。犯罪司法研究表明，人们犯罪的决心并不取决于惩罚的严厉程度，而是取决于惩罚是否确定和迅速。联邦政府对该地区的控制使得这两个因素变得复杂化。
penchant
音标：[ˈpɛnʃənt]
主要意思：倾向，嗜好，偏好
例句：She has a penchant for adventure and is always seeking new experiences.
其他相关单词：
Preference: 偏好，喜好
Inclination: 倾向，爱好
Fondness: 喜爱，钟爱
Affinity: 亲近，喜好
Propensity: 倾向，癖好
In Washington, unlike any other American city, the us attorney is responsible for prosecuting both local and federal crimes (and defending the federal government in civil cases). The office’s split personality means that resources must be rationed. After January 6th 2021, for example, the former us attorney pulled staff off local cases to help prosecute insurrectionists who had stormed the Capitol.国会大厦的袭击事件后，华盛顿特区不同于其他美国城市，联邦检察官负责起诉本地和联邦罪行（并在民事案件中代表联邦政府）。这个办公室的双重身份意味着资源必须被限制使用。例如，在2021年1月6日之后，前任美国检察官召回了本地案件的工作人员，以帮助起诉冲击国会大厦的叛乱分子。
In 2022 the office declined to prosecute 67% of local arrests, up from 31% in 2016. That is much higher than in other cities: according to the Washington Post, last year Philadelphia prosecutors dropped just 4% of cases, Cook County, which includes Chicago, 14% and Detroit 33%. Such a high dismissal rate could well be discouraging police from making arrests. And though it could suggest triaging, where prosecutors prioritise slam-dunk cases, the office’s win-rate did not budge as they slimmed down their docket. That sends a message: in America’s capital, committing a crime may not have consequences.2022年，该办公室放弃了67%的本地逮捕案件的起诉，而2016年这一比例为31%。这远高于其他城市：根据《华盛顿邮报》的报道，去年费城检察官只放弃了4%的案件，芝加哥所在的库克县为14%，底特律为33%。如此高的放弃起诉率可能会使警方对逮捕行动失去动力。尽管这可能表明检察官将重点放在确凿无疑的案件上，但检察院的胜诉率并没有因为减少案件数量而改变。这传递了一个信息：在美国的首都，犯罪可能不会受到严肃后果的制约。
Because there is no state apparatus, district judges who hear local cases are nominated by the president and approved by the Senate, just like federal judges. Since presidents are eager to fill circuit-court posts across the country to increase their political influence, Washington’s judges get sidelined. As a result the district has 12 vacancies and seven judges awaiting Senate confirmation. That is unusual: in Pennsylvania just two posts are unfilled, in neighbouring Maryland one. With nearly one-third of the bench empty, fewer cases go to trial. The backlog is not only an injustice; it also pulls the punch of a quick conviction.因为没有州级机构，负责审理本地案件的地区法官由总统提名并经参议院批准，就像联邦法官一样。由于总统渴望填补全国各地的巡回法院职位以增加其政治影响力，华盛顿的法官们被边缘化。结果是该地区有12个空缺职位和七名等待参议院确认的法官。这是不寻常的：在宾夕法尼亚州只有两个职位空缺，在邻近的马里兰州只有一个。由于近三分之一的法官席位空缺，进入审判阶段的案件少得可怜。案牍积压不仅是一种不公正，还削弱了快速定罪的力量。
More independence from the feds would probably help the District get back on track. But local leaders will be trusted only when they can reduce violence. In July the council passed a bill that temporarily raised the charge for firing a gun from a misdemeanour to a felony and made it easier to lock up violent offenders before trial. After Mr Cuellar was attacked they voted to extend that bill for another 90 days.更大程度的从联邦政府独立可能有助于哥伦比亚特区重新走上正轨。但是，只有当地领导人能够减少暴力行为时才会受到信任。今年7月，议会通过了一项法案，将开枪罪从轻罪提升为重罪，并使其更容易在审判前关押暴力犯罪分子。在库亚尔先生遭到袭击后，他们投票决定将该法案延长90天。
Last week the mayor introduced another one, to crack down on loitering, wearing dodgy masks and scheming to steal from shops. Congress ought to commend them for it. Instead, House Republicans’ latest appropriations bill includes a provision to allow out-of-state gun-owners to carry concealed weapons in the district. It is hard to imagine how that will help.上周，市长提出了另一项法案，打击闲逛、戴可疑面具和谋划从商店偷窃等行为。国会应该对此予以赞扬。然而，众议院共和党最新的拨款法案中包含了一项条款，允许来自外州的枪支持有人在该地区携带隐蔽武器。很难想象这将如何有所帮助。
来源: The Economist
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