美国国家公共电台 NPR--Portland finds it's hard to disentangle the rise in crime from the housing crisis

Portland finds it's hard to disentangle the rise in crime from the housing crisis

Transcript¹

In Portland, Ore., officials are responding to business owners' concerns about crime and public safety, in part, by targeting homeless encampments.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In Portland, Ore., officials are responding to business owners' concerns about crime and public safety, in part by targeting homeless encampments. NPR's Katia Riddle² reports.

KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE³: Standing⁴ outside his company's headquarters, Jason Bolt recalls a recent day. He was walking on this block with a colleague.

JASON BOLT: As soon as we got around that corner, a guy ran out of the RV with a knife and came at us.

RIDDLE: What surprised him in that moment was how desensitized he'd become.

BOLT: Kind of lose sight of, like, that person is suffering big time. If they're chasing you down the street with a knife, yeah, of course, I'm terrified. And we need to deal with that from a law enforcement perspective. But also, why are they doing that?

RIDDLE: There's so much of it that you can't see it anymore.

BOLT: Yeah. And that's my biggest fear is like we as a population lose that ability.

RIDDLE: Bolt is the founder⁵ of an eyeglass lens company called Revant. This light industrial area seemed safe enough when he moved his business here five years ago. But things turned bad, especially during the pandemic.

BOLT: Yeah. So at its worst here, we had - you know, we had a lot of trash and bikes and cars being disassembled here.

RIDDLE: Across the country, car thefts in cities were up 14% in 2021. Business owners in this neighborhood have also been dealing⁶ with break-ins and threats to their employees' safety. Bolt describes a complex ecosystem⁷ that arose in the neighborhood, one that turned on the sale of drugs and stolen goods.

BOLT: So there was open-air chop shops on pretty much every block surrounding our building.

RIDDLE: Bolt says so many tents and RVs crowded the sidewalks that he and his staff had to walk down the middle of the street to get to work. Recently, a group of businesses in this neighborhood publicly threatened to move out of the city altogether unless something changed. In response, the city has implemented⁸ a strategy it calls a 90-day reset¹⁰. Here's Portland Mayor Ted⁹ Wheeler.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TED WHEELER: Problematic camp removals increased by 450%.

RIDDLE: Problematic camp removals, otherwise known as sweeps. Remove the homeless camps from these neighborhoods, says Wheeler, and you'll get rid of the crime. Here he is discussing outcomes of a similar effort in a different neighborhood.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WHEELER: Drug offenses¹¹ in Old Town were down 51%. Trespassing¹² was down 93%.

RIDDLE: Wheeler says those dramatic changes demonstrate a connection between homeless camps and crime in these neighborhoods. There are more than 5,000 unhoused people in Portland. Homeless advocates point out that these sweeps affect both those involved in criminal activity and those who aren't. A few miles away is a nonprofit called Blanchet House. Joshua Rasmussen is eating lunch and warming up here. He says he's witnessed many sweeps.

JASON RASMUSSEN: Some people - I don't know. They can't stand losing all their stuff.

RIDDLE: Rasmussen gestures across the street to an encampment that he says is frequently swept, and it's traumatic.

RASMUSSEN: It drives some people wild.

RIDDLE: He says, often people just start screaming when they find their things missing. Brian Mitchell is sitting a few tables away.

BRIAN MITCHELL: I understand that they want to make the neighborhood better.

RIDDLE: Mitchell lived for some time in a tent, even while he was working and going to school. Sweeping¹³ camps, he says, forces unhoused people to live in constant fear.

MITCHELL: Because they have to sleep somewhere. They have to rest somewhere.

RIDDLE: Mitchell found a better place himself to rest recently. He moved into a shelter. He says the only way to solve problems around crime and homelessness is to meet everyone's needs, especially those who have the least. Katia Riddle, NPR News, Portland.

1 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。

2 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

3 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。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

10 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

11 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

12 trespassing   

[法]非法入侵

参考例句：

• He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
• Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。

13 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？