美国一些城市采取新措施抑制青少年犯罪

 Some US Cities Resort to New Programs to Curb¹ Youth Violence 美国一些城市采取新措施抑制青少年犯罪

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY²—

Murder rates have risen during the first half of the year in several US cities . Many of the homicide victims have been juveniles³. Now city officials and police in some communities are fighting back with programs designed to steer⁴ young people away from a life of crime.

Newark, New Jersey, has seen a spike⁵ in homicides, robberies, drug dealing⁶ and gang activity.  People in the community are upset - especially about the rising murder rate among young African-Americans.

"It just hurts when I see so much violence, especially when you are killing⁷ your brother, black on black crime," said  community activist⁸ Reggie Miller⁹.

Community activist Reggie Miller runs programs that offer positive social and emotional development skills for young black children. His goal is to convince them to stay out of trouble and finish college.

"I am trying to get them to just look at life critically and know that they need to [go] through education, through service and giving back that your life can take a greater turn from where you are right now," said Miller.

Dennis Rodriguez knows young people who have committed crimes but who want to change their lives.

"A lot of them understand that they have the talents and capabilities¹⁰ but a lot of them think that those talents and capabilities is not what it is ((they are)) supposed to be. A lot of them think they should use that talent and capabilities for something destructive rather than something constructive," said Rodriguez.

"We have the financial resources to put about 450 more [police officers] cops on the street," said Newark's mayor, Ras Baraka.

Baraka,  is trying various ways to curb youth crime. He's put more police on street patrols, but with mixed results.  As a former high school principal, he has also put more resources towards educational programs that target young people in some of the city's most crime-ridden neighborhoods.

"It is not just about pulling yourself up by your boot straps¹¹ or just changing your mind and saying 'I want to do right'. It is having the right people and support around you that helps you pick the right path and have the courage and strength to stay on that path," he said.

The mayor's example has 19 year old Darnell Smith turning his life around.

"I want to be known for that guy right there [the mayor]. But he also took another step and became the next councilman and like Ras Baraka then mayor.  Maybe that could be me some day you never know," said Smith.

Darrell Price is trying to help 16 to 24-year-old high school dropouts. He runs a program that gives them educational and job skills.

"The recidivism¹² rate for young people who we have who have already committed crimes our recidivism rate is below five percent," said Price.

Seventeen-year-old Jasmine Barnett had no plans to finish high school - until she had a baby. Now that she's a parent, she's about to graduate and look for a job.

"It always takes that one person who could change you - and that one person was my son," said Barnett.

Community leaders want the city to fund more programs that will reduce youth violence and crime while putting young people here on a path to succeed in life.

1 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

2 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。

3 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

4 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

5 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

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 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

12 recidivism   

n.累犯，再犯

参考例句：

• Many areas and work units have experienced no recidivism at all for as long as ten or more years.不少地区和单位出现了连续几年、十几年没有发生重新犯罪的好典型。
• It needs to supplement the personality factor to confirm the ordinary recidivism.在普通累犯成立的条件中,应增加罪犯的人格因素。