美国国家公共电台 NPR Chicago Debates If Civilian Groups Should Oversee Police

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Residents of Chicago are wrestling with a question. We've all seen video of alleged¹ police violence against civilians³. But what to do with that knowledge? In Chicago, residents worked to design new ways to monitor police behavior, and now they face a battle over which works best. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE⁴: After months of discussions and meetings, there are four dueling⁵ proposals for a new police watchdog agency in Chicago that more actively⁶ involves citizens. Public hearings resume tomorrow. The first one was contentious⁷ from the very start as people packed an assembly room and argued about the meeting process, and one woman, Armanda Shackleford (ph), clearly angry, charged that police had abused her son.

ARMANDA SHACKLEFORD: This need to stop. Police need to be held accountable.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: That's right.

CORLEY: There are about 18,000 police departments in the U.S. The National Association for Civilian² Oversight⁸ of Law Enforcement, or NACOLE, says there are about 200 civilian groups that monitor police. Barbara Attard, an accountability in police practices consultant⁹, says civilian oversight is always evolving.

BARBARA ATTARD: And it's always a negotiation¹⁰. It's a negotiation between the government and the police union and the community.

CORLEY: Two proposals favored by Chicago's mayor are modeled after civilian oversight groups in Seattle and Los Angeles County. They recommend and review police procedures but serve only in an advisory¹¹ role. Two other proposals offered by community groups give citizens a more hands-on approach. Mecole Jordan is a spokeswoman for the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability, or GAPA. She says citizens must have more of a say-so when it comes to how Chicago police operate.

MECOLE JORDAN: When policies are drafted outside of community input¹², we have a slew¹³ of consequences that our communities bear the brunt of.

CORLEY: The GAPA proposal calls for electing people to a board which would have the power to select and remove the police superintendent¹⁴. Then there's proposal number four.

LARRY REDMOND: CPAC is about something altogether different.

CORLEY: Larry Redmond is with a group pushing for what it calls a Civilian Police Accountability Council, or CPAC.

REDMOND: We're talking about ending the power structure as it currently exists.

CORLEY: Community control, says Redmond, as opposed to oversight. It's a controversial proposal that gives citizens the power to also investigate officers, as well. Officials with NACOLE says it's often volatile¹⁵ incidents that spurs cities to set up or expand civilian oversight operations. But there's also pushback by police. Kevin Graham, the head of the Fraternal Order of Police in Chicago, says when it comes to monitoring police and the job they do, it should be left up to professionals familiar with police operations.

KEVIN GRAHAM: When you have civilians - hey, I'm sure they watch a lot of television. I'm sure they have well-meaning interests. But the reality is, they don't know how a police department works.

CORLEY: NACOLE says civilian oversight board members often go through extensive training to understand police policy and procedures. As negotiations¹⁶ continue in Chicago over which model is best, all involved say it's a given that there will be a new civilian police oversight body here. It's just one of many steps underway in the attempt to build a more trusting, or at least respectful, relationship between the city's police and residents. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago.

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

You can read more about that story at our website, npr.org. And, of course, you can follow us on all the social places. We've got a Facebook page. You can follow us on Twitter. David is @nprgreene, with an E. Don't forget the E. You can find me, @rachelnpr.

INSKEEP: Also with an E.

MARTIN: Also with an E. Yeah. Just one.

INSKEEP: But not on the end.

MARTIN: Right. Exactly.

INSKEEP: Go on.

MARTIN: Steve, @nprinskeep. And, of course, Noel King is @noelking.

INSKEEP: All of them with E's, come to think of it. Anyway...

MARTIN: So many E's.

INSKEEP: Anyway, we look forward to talking with you.

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 dueling   

n. 决斗, 抗争(=duelling) 动词duel的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• More light-hearted But somewhat puzzled, Vladimir prepared to meet Eugene on the dueling ground. 弗拉基米尔心里轻松了一些，但仍感到有些困惑，在这种心情下，他准备去决斗场地迎战叶甫盖尼。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• They had been dueling for hours and finally called a draw. 他们一直决斗了数小时，最后打成平局。

6 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

7 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

8 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。

9 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

10 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

11 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

12 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

13 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

14 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

15 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

16 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。