经济学人322:纽约的警察同志们,有木有玩过头了?

 　　BECAUSE of the September 2001 attacks, the New York Police Department has become a sophisticated counter-terrorism agency. In the decade since then the NYPD has increased the number of detectives on a joint¹ task-force it has long operated with the FBI from 17 to more than 100. It hired a former senior CIA spook to head its intelligence division. Detectives have been posted all over the world, in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Israel, London and Madrid, among other places.

　　2001年的911恐怖袭击事件后，美国纽约警方由此变成了一个资深的反恐机构。在911事件发生的十年时间内，纽约警方已经和美国联邦调查局合作侦查的案件从17起突增到100起。纽约警察局雇佣了前任中情局的高级侦探来领导他们的情报部门。其探员遍布在阿布扎比，阿曼，以色列，伦敦以及马德里等世界各个地区。

　　Scores of native speakers of around 50 languages, including Arabic, Dari, Persian, Urdu, Pushup and Bengali, have been hired—some say the NYPD has more Arabic speakers than the FBI. It has, at times, irritated both the CIA and the FBI, who are jealous guardians² of their turf. But the results have spoken for themselves. Several plots to devastate³ New York have been foiled, including plans to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge, the stock exchange and Times Square.

　　许多会说当地语言的本地人都被雇佣起来了，包括阿拉伯语，波斯语，乌尔都语，Pushup和保加利亚语。其中一部分的人说纽约警方所雇佣的阿拉伯人比FBI还要多。偶尔，这会激怒中情局和联邦调查局两个强势机构，他们都是怀着十分嫉妒情绪的人群。但是事情往往证明了他们的想法。有若干的情节还是会相当严重的，包括破坏布鲁克林大桥，纽交所以及时代广场。

　　The NYPD has been duly applauded for all this. Last year Barack Obama’s head of counter-terrorism called its efforts “heroic”. But now it may have overstepped the mark. According to an exposé by the Associated Press, the NYPD has been monitoring Muslims not just in New York, but also across the Hudson river (and the state line) in Newark, New Jersey⁴. It appears to have done so for no better reason than that its targets practise Islam.

　　纽约警方一直都以此为荣。去年，奥巴马政府的反恐组织头目高度赞扬他们的行为并称之为“极富有英雄主义色彩”。但是，现在他可能已经越过“雷池”很多了。根据美国联合通讯社的一则曝光内容称纽约警方不仅一直监视着在纽约地区的穆斯林们，而且还越过哈德逊河监视着在新泽西州的纽瓦克市的穆斯林。这样的行为明显已经超出仅仅是针对伊斯兰的目标了。

　　A 60-page “demographics” report about Newark’s Muslims, compiled by NYPD’s Intelligence Division, includes photographs of shops, restaurants and a school that are owned or frequented by Muslims. It also catalogues information about Muslims on Long Island. And the NYPD has kept a close eye on students on several campuses in the north-east, including Rutgers, Columbia and Yale. An undercover cop apparently⁵ even went with students on a white-water rafting trip.

　　一份六十页的由纽约警方的情报部门汇编的关于纽瓦克市的穆斯林报告，包括商店店铺，餐馆以及有穆斯林学生学校的照片，还包括了一些在长岛地区的穆斯林的信息分类。并且纽约警方还密切监视着在美国东北部地区的若干大学的穆斯林学生，包括纽泽西州立大学，哥伦比亚大学以及耶鲁大学。甚至还有便衣警察在与那些学生漂流的时候趁机与其接触并展开调查。

　　Muslims and civil-rights groups are angry and anxious about all this. Parents are advising their children not to join Muslim student groups. Azka Mohyuddin, one such student, worries that her name will end up on a “do-not-fly” list. Cory Booker, Newark’s mayor, and Chris Christie, New Jersey’s governor, who were not informed about the NYPD’s activities, are not happy either. New Jersey’s attorney-general is looking into the matter, and the federal Justice Department is wondering whether to investigate the complaints. This being America, a class-action lawsuit⁶ is looking likely. But Ray Kelly, the police commissioner⁷, defended his force in a speech on March 3rd, saying it would be folly⁸ to ignore what takes place outside the city. “If terrorists are not limited by borders and boundaries”, he said, “we can’t be either.”

　　穆斯林和人权组织对此表示十分的愤怒和忧虑。家长们则建议他们的子女最好远离穆斯林学生群体。Azka Mohyuddin就是这样的一个的一名学生，她担心她会被列入不予培养的名单当中。纽瓦克市市长Cory Booker，以及新西南州州长Chris Christie，都不知道纽约警方的这一系列的行为。他们对此也表示十分的反感。新泽西州的司法部长已经着手介入调查。联邦司法部门正在犹豫是否去调查这样的一些抱怨之声。在美国，这样的一场集体诉讼可能即将要上演。但是，警察委员会委员长Ray Kelly在三月三号的一次演讲中力挺他们这样的行动，并认为忽略这个城市以外将发生的事情是一件十分愚蠢的事情。“如果恐怖分子不受制于国界与边界，我们当然也就不会这样做了”

　　At the federal level, mechanisms⁹ are in place to keep agents in check. In New York the NYPD has to abide¹⁰ by the so-called Handschu guidelines, which are designed to keep the police from investigating a person or group solely¹¹ because of politics or religion; they need something concrete to go on. But the guidelines were relaxed after the 2001 attacks, and are anyway open to broad interpretation¹². Faiza Patel of the Brennan Centre for Justice feels that an independent oversight¹³ authority, like the inspector-general in Los Angeles, may be needed.

　　事件上升到联邦的级别，机制的存在是为了让机构能够有效的运行。在纽约，警方的力量被那些所谓的Handschu规则所限制，这样的一种机制是专门为了阻止警方因为宗教和政治的原因去单独随意地调查一个人或者一个团体，而是需要一些具体的措施来跟进。但是这样的一些规则在2001年的恐怖袭击之后开始睁一只眼闭一只眼了，对涉及的一些问题给出了一些更宽泛的解释来作为一个所谓的掩饰。布鲁南司法中心的Faiza Patel认为一个像洛杉矶的综合监管机构那样的独立的监管机构是非常有存在的必要的。

　　The irony¹⁴ about this surveillance, says Eugene O’Donnell of John Jay College of Criminal Justice—a former policeman himself—is that it is alienating¹⁵ the very groups the NYPD need to keep sweet in order to induce them to give information about extremists. “This dragnet approach was a recipe for trouble,” he says.

　　但是，刑事司法学院的约翰?杰伊，原来曾身为一位警察的他却认为这样的一个监管本身就是一件很讽刺的事情，因为机构本身会疏远很多纽约警察厅想要亲近的群体来诱使他们提供一些关于极端分子的信息。只能说是自作孽不可活。

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

3 devastate   

v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒

参考例句：

• A few days before,a fire had devastated large parts of Windsor Castle.几天前，温莎城堡的大部分被一场大火烧毁。
• Earthquakes can also cause tsunamis,which devastate coastal regions.地震还引发海啸，它直接破坏海岸地区。

4 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

9 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

11 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

12 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

13 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

14 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

15 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网