2015年经济学人 警察与紧缩 下降趋势

The police and austerity

Down beat

Budget cuts may not affect crime—but they will change politics

Good old-fashioned policing

POLICING in England and Wales is in crisis and things are about to get nasty.

That, at least, is what the coppers¹ would have you believe.

Ahead of the annual conference this week of the Police Federation², the policemen's union, Steve White, its leader,

cautioned that budget cuts could mean a move towards more“paramilitary” policing, with officers using water cannons³, rubber bullets and tear gas.

Theresa May, the home secretary, accused him of scaremongering. Mr White's logic⁴ is certainly fuzzy.

But his warnings highlight the deteriorating⁵ relations between the police and their traditional allies, the Conservatives.

Police today are warier⁶ of heavy tactics than they once were.

Chris Donaldson, a retired⁷ police officer, was on the streets of Tottenham in 1985, when riots broke out around the Broadwater Farm estate.

He was back there in 2011 when disturbances⁸ erupted after police shot and killed Mark Duggan, a suspected gang member.

Three decades ago, police were far more willing—sometimes overly so—to use force, says Mr Donaldson.

In the 1980s, at the height of battles with striking miners, the police “would definitely be instructed to charge at times,”

says Peter Neyroud, a former chief constable⁹ now at Cambridge University.

Today they are more reluctant to use such strategies. Officers try to to contain public disorder¹⁰ with tactics such as kettling,

whereby demonstrators are confined to a small area. Rather than leading to paramilitary-style policing,

declining ranks of officers could make negotiation¹¹ between police and protesters more common.

Short on numbers, cops policing protests will have to behave even more carefully to avoid precipitating¹² trouble.

And tougher tactics are “largely anathema¹³ to the British police”, says Tim Newburn, a criminologist at the London School of Economics,

with senior officers unconvinced such tactics are effective and certain they are unpopular.

Even after the coalition¹⁴ government's cuts of 20% to police budgets, and an 11% fall in officer numbers since 2010,

by historical standards there are still a lot of police about. Bobbies are more numerous today than in the mid-1990s, when law-breaking was at its peak.

The police have long resisted reductions to their budgets. But few would have thought the fiercest cuts,

harshest criticism and clearest diminution¹⁵ in their political clout¹⁶ would come under the Tories, so long the party of law and order.

With David Cameron, the prime minister, determined¹⁷ to save money and reform what he once called the “last great unreformed public service”,

the once-close relationship between the Tories and Britain's law-enforcers has soured.

1 coppers   

铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币

参考例句：

• I only paid a few coppers for it. 我只花了几个铜板买下这东西。
• He had only a few coppers in his pocket. 他兜里仅有几个铜板。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

5 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

6 warier   

谨慎的，小心翼翼的( wary的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Beijing itself also become warier. 中国政府本身也变得更为谨慎。
• That suggests investors are warier than ever of lending to the banking system. 这种情况表明，投资者对借钱给银行系统的担忧比之前加剧了。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

9 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

10 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

11 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。

12 precipitating   

adj.急落的，猛冲的v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的现在分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀

参考例句：

• Precipitating electrode plate is a key part in electrostatic precipitation equipment. 静电收尘板是静电收尘设备中的关键部件。 来自互联网
• The precipitation bond adopts a sloped tube to enhance the precipitating efficiency. 沉淀池采用斜管，提高了沉降效率。 来自互联网

13 anathema   

n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物)

参考例句：

• Independence for the Kurds is anathema to Turkey and Iran.库尔德人的独立对土耳其和伊朗来说将是一场梦魇。
• Her views are ( an ) anathema to me.她的观点真叫我讨厌。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 diminution   

n.减少；变小

参考例句：

• They hope for a small diminution in taxes.他们希望捐税能稍有减少。
• He experienced no diminution of his physical strength.他并未感觉体力衰落。

16 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

17 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。