美国国家公共电台 NPR Activists: Gang Database Disproportionately Targets Young Men Of Color

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Police departments across the U.S. are using electronic databases to store intelligence on gang activity. These databases have been heralded¹ by police as a crime fighting tool. But some activists² in Chicago claim they do more harm than good. Immigrants in particular say the city's list is full of errors. And in some cases, they lead to deportations. From member station WBEZ, Odette Yousef reports.

ODETTE YOUSEF, BYLINE³: Fifteen years ago, the Chicago Police Department started gathering⁴ information about gangs electronically. It was the next big thing at the time for police departments. The idea was to store gang intelligence in one centralized system.

MICHAEL MARTIN: It allows us to reduce violent crime, to identify the most active gangs and gang members.

YOUSEF: Michael Martin is with the Midwest Gang Investigators⁵ Association and teaches at the National Gang Center based in Florida. He says today, most U.S. law enforcement agencies use some sort of database to track gangs, and they help with analyzing⁶ trends and prosecuting⁷ cases.

MARTIN: But we have to do this stuff, right? We have to ensure that we're protecting people's rights when we're doing this. Otherwise, the community's not going to trust us.

YOUSEF: In Chicago, that trust is eroding⁸. Over time, Chicago's list has grown to include almost 65,000 people that the police consider gang-affiliated. More than 95 percent are African-American or Latino. Young activists say that police are irresponsibly and disproportionately labeling young men of color as gang members. And the information is leading immigration agents to those who are undocumented. Luis Pedrote Salinas says this is exactly what happened to him seven years ago.

LUIS PEDROTE SALINAS: They arrested me for an unopened Bud Light beer can. And just because of that, they picked me up. Then I was getting deported⁹.

YOUSEF: Pedrote is an undocumented man from Mexico. He says he was getting into his car in a neighborhood that Chicago police were targeting for gang activity. They stopped him and spotted¹⁰ the beer can in his car. They arrested him. The case was never prosecuted¹¹. But that arrest has had long-lasting effects for Pedrote.

SALINAS: He said that I self-testified to be a Latin King. But I didn't testify nothing.

YOUSEF: Pedrote says he's not in a gang. But in Chicago, there's no official process to get off the database. And for Pedrote, the most frustrating¹² thing is that he thinks being on the list killed his eligibility¹³ for DACA, the Deferred¹⁴ Action for Childhood Arrivals policy that protects some migrants who are brought to the U.S. as children.

SALINAS: We knew they denied me because of the gang allegations.

YOUSEF: Pedrote is suing the Chicago Police Department. And because of that, it won't comment on his claims. But the department did recently make an extraordinary admission in a separate but similar case. It said that even though it had labeled another undocumented man a gang member, it had no evidence to back that up. That cleared the way for the man to apply for a visa that he hadn't been able to get because of the label. Despite this, Chicago Police Superintendent¹⁵ Eddie Johnson still largely considers the database reliable.

EDDIE JOHNSON: I think that, you know, any facet¹⁶ of life that we deal with - there may be errors.

YOUSEF: The department says in court filings that changes to the database would be unworkable. But Michael Martin says databases should regularly be purged¹⁷ of wrong information. Otherwise, people's civil rights might be violated, and departments could eventually be forced to dismantle¹⁸ their databases. Martin says that's what happened to Minnesota's statewide database several years ago. And more recently, the Portland, Ore., police department also discontinued its gang database over the same concerns. For NPR News, I'm Odette Yousef.

1 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

7 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

8 eroding   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
• Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。

9 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

11 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

12 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

14 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

15 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。

16 facet   

n.(问题等的)一个方面；(多面体的)面

参考例句：

• He has perfected himself in every facet of his job.他已使自己对工作的各个方面都得心应手。
• Every facet of college life is fascinating.大学生活的每个方面都令人兴奋。

17 purged   

清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响

参考例句：

• He purged his enemies from the Party. 他把他的敌人从党内清洗出去。
• The iron in the chemical compound must be purged. 化学混合物中的铁必须清除。

18 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。