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These features show that it makes little sense to blame the police, judges or correctional personnel for being soft on criminals. There is not much else they can do. The police can't find most criminals and those they do find are difficult and costly to convict. Those convicted can't all be sent to prison. The society demands that we do everything we can against crime. The practical reality is that there is very little the police, courts or prisons can do about the crime problem. The criminal justice system must then become as powerless as a parent who has charge of hundreds of teenage children and who is nonetheless expected to answer the TV message: "It's 10 o'clock! Do you know where your children are?"

A few statistics from the Justice Department's recent "Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice" illustrate my point. Of every 100 serious crimes committed in America, only 33 are actually reported to the police. Of the 33 reported, about six lead to arrest. Of the six arrested, only three are prosecuted and convicted. The others are rejected or dismissed due to evidence or witness problems or are sent elsewhere for medical treatment instead of punishment. Of the three convicted, only one is sent to prison. The other two are allowed to live in their community under supervision. Of the select few sent to prison, more than half receive a maximum sentence of five years. The average inmate, however, leaves prison in about two years. Most prisoners gain early release not because parole boards are too easy on crime, but because it is much cheaper to supervise a criminal in the community. And, of course, prison officials must make room for the new prisoners sent almost daily from the courts.

We could, of course, get tough with the people we already have in prison and keep them locked up for longer periods of time. Yet when measured against the lower crime rates this would probably produce, longer prison sentences are not worth the cost to state and local governments. Besides, those states that have tried to gain voters' approval for bonds to build new prisons often discover that the public is unwilling to pay for prison construction.

And if it were willing to pay, long prison sentences may not be effective in reducing crime. In 1981, 124,000 convicts were released from prison. If we had kept them in jail for an additional year, how many crimes would have been prevented? While it is not possible to know the true amount of crime committed by

people released from prison in any given year, we do know the extent to which those under parole are jailed again for major crime convictions. This number is a surprisingly low 6 percent (after three years it rises to only 11 percent). Even if released prisoners commit an average of two crimes each, this would amount to only 15,000 crimes prevented: a drop in the bucket when measured against the 41 million crimes committed each year.

More time spent in prison is also more expensive. The best estimates are that it costs an average of $13,000 to keep a person in prison for one year. If we had a place to keep the 124,000 released prisoners, it would have cost us $1.6 billion to prevent 15,000 crimes. This works out to more than $100,000 per crime prevented. But there is more. With the average cost of prison construction running around $50,000 per bed, it would cost more than $6 billion to build the necessary cells. The first-year operating cost would be $150,000 per crime prevented, worth it if the victim were you or me, but much too expensive to be feasible as a national policy.

Faced with the reality of the numbers, I will not be so foolish as to suggest a solution to the crime problem. My contribution to the public debate begins and ends with this simple observation: getting tough with criminals is not the answer.

参考译文

这些特征表明，责怪警察、法院或者改造部门等对罪犯大宽容是没有道理的。他们除此之外也是无能为力。大多数罪犯警察们是抓不到的；他们真正抓住的那些，也很难判罪，而且耗资不菲。那些被判有罪的也不可能全部关进监狱。社会要求我们竭尽全力全力打击罪犯。而现实是，警察、法院、监狱对打击罪犯所能做的是少之又少的。司法机构就如同一位拥有成百上千个十几岁孩子的家长一样无助；尽管如此，他还要回答电视里提出的问题：“10点钟了！你都知道你的孩子们在哪儿吗？”

司法部最近作的《关于犯罪与审判的国家报告》中的几个统计数据证明了我的观点。在美国，每100起严重的犯罪中，实际上只有33起报了案。在这33起报了案的犯罪中，大约有6个罪犯被捕。在这6个被捕的罪犯中，只有3人被提起公诉并判罪。其余的因证据或证人问题而不能立案或遭驳回，或保外就医而免于处罚。在这3个被判罪的人中，只有一个被关进监狱。另外两人获准监视居住。在这些少数的被精选出来关进监狱的人中，一半以上的人最多判5年徒刑。然而，平均下来，犯人在狱中只呆两年左右。大多数犯人被提前释放，不是因为假释主管人员对他们太手软了，而是因为监视居住的花费要少得多。还有，当然，监狱官员必须给法庭几乎天天送来的新犯人准备地方。

我们当然可以对在押犯人严厉一些，把他们关更长的时间。但是与这可能带来的低一点的犯罪率相比，国家或地方政府花在延长刑期上的钱是不值得的。另外，有些州曾尽力争取选民赞成发行债券建造新的监狱，但他们常发现公众不愿意为监狱建设买单。

即使公众愿意花钱，延长刑期也不可能有效地减少犯罪。在1981年共有12.4万名罪犯被释放。如果我们把他们再关一年，可以预防多少起犯罪呢？尽管我们不可能知道在某一年中刑满释放人员犯罪的确切数字，但我们知道那些在假释期间由于重大的犯罪事件又被重新关进监狱的比例。这个数字出奇地低，仅占总人数的6%（3年后仅升至11%）。即使已释放的犯人平均每人再犯两起犯罪活动，总共也只能预防15000起，这与每年4100万起犯罪比起来简直是九牛一毛。

在监狱中呆的时间越长，花费也就越多。最恰当的估计是，让一个人在监狱中呆一年平均要花费13000美元。如果我们有地方关押12.4万被释放的罪犯，为阻止15000起犯罪我们将花费16亿美元。算下来每阻止一件案件就要花10万美元。但实际上比这更多。在建造监狱时，平均每个床位的费用是5万美元，建造足够的牢房也就得花至少60亿美元还要多。在第一年的实施过程中，每阻止一起案件就得花15万美元，如果受害者是你或我，这是值得的；但作为一项国策，它就得不偿失了。

面对这些真实的数据，我不会蠢到要对打击犯罪献计献策。我对公众辩论的贡献贯穿着这样的观点：严惩犯罪绝不是万全之策。

词汇释义

1.correctional adj.改正的, 矫正的, 修正的

例句：

a correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes.
以感化那些犯过大错的犯人为主要目的的感化院。

2.prosecute v. 进行,实行,起诉

例句：

He was prosecuted for exceeding the speed limit.
他被告发超速行驶。

3.parole n. 誓言,释放宣言,假释,有条件的释放

例句：

Have he satisfy all the condition for parole?
他是否符合所有假释条件？

4.bucket n. 水桶

例句：

How many buckets of water will we need to fill this small pond?
装满这个小池塘需要多少桶水？

5.cell n. 细胞,电池,单人牢房,蜂房

例句：

The prisoner paced the floor of his cell.
那犯人在牢房里来回地走著.

短语释义

1.be soft on （态度、方针等上）温和的，不够强硬的，心慈手软的，宽厚的

例句：

His political enemies said he was soft on terrirism.

他的政敌批评他对待恐怖主义心慈手软。

2.due to 由于，因为，是...的结果

例句：

Their increase in profits is due in part to their innovative market strategy.

他们的利润增长部分原因是由于采用了有创新精神的市场策略。

3.make room for sb./sth. 为某人/某物腾出地方

例句：

Move along and make room for me!

往前点儿，给我腾出点儿地方。

4.be measured against sth. 跟...比较；较量

例句：

I measured the coat against her and found it was too long.

我把上衣在她身上比了一下，发现太长了。

5.work out to 等于；总计为

例句：

The total area works out to 25，000 square milles.

整个地区面积达25，000平方英里。

6.be worth (doing) sth. 值得做某事

例句：

It's well worth making the effort to learn how to do it.

我值得花一番功夫去学会怎么做这件事。

难句释义与解析

1.Yet when measured against the lower crime rates this would probably produce, longer prison sentences are not worth the cost to state and local governments.

【难句释义】Although the crime rates would probably go down if criminals were kept longer in prison. When we consider the money that state and governments have to pay for this, it's not worthwhile for longer prison.

2.The first-year operating cost would be $150,000 per crime prevented, worth it if the victim were you or me, but much too expensive to be feasible as a national policy.

【难句释义】Averagely speaking, the first year, to prevent one crime, $150,000 would be cost.If there were only one person's life, such as yours or mine, to save, it would be worthy, but such a policy would be much too expensive to carry out nationwide.