《中英對照讀新聞》Forum examines where mental health, law enforcement intersect 論壇檢視心理衛生與執法機構交錯之處

◎蔡子岳

Mental illness – whether developmental or caused by drug abuse, PTSD or dementia – has reached a crisis point on both sides of the state line with law enforcement often on the front lines.

心理疾患，無論是後天因素或藥物濫用、創傷後壓力症候群或老化癡呆所引起，均已對通常置身前線的執法機關及其面對的人物間，達到危機爆發點。

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"Research indicates up to 25 percent of people killed by law enforcement officers suffer from some mental illness. In many cases law enforcement officers are not properly trained to deal with mentally ill subjects, and this lapse in training often results in injuries or deaths of subjects and officers," said Lake County Sheriff John Buncich during Tuesday’s round table discussion.

「研究指出，被執法官員擊斃者最多有約25%為某些心理疾患所苦。在許多案例中，執法官員並未經過適當訓練，知道如何應付有心理疾患的疑犯，這項訓練缺失往往導致嫌疑人與員警傷亡。」雷克郡警長邦奇契在週二的圓桌討論中表示。

"The Lake County Jail currently houses approximately 700 inmates and at any given time 30 to 50 percent of our inmate population are mentally ill," Buncich said, adding that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has that same percentage of mental illness among Cook County Jail’s 10,000 inmates.

「雷克郡監獄目前監禁近700名囚犯，不管任何時候都有30至50%的獄犯罹患精神疾病，」邦奇契表示，他進一步指出，庫克郡警長達特所轄監獄的約1萬名囚犯中，精神患者的比率與雷克郡相同。

"We have spent $2 million to put in a modern, state-of-the-art mental health facility with about 40 psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals, but we can’t keep up with it," Buncich said.

「我們已在一所現代化的先進心理衛生機構投資200萬美元，聘用40名心理醫師、心理學家與其他心理衛生專業人士，但仍無法應付所需，」邦奇契表示。

新聞辭典

abuse：名詞、動詞，虐待，傷害。drug abuse：藥物濫用；child abuse：虐兒。例句：PTSD is often accompanied by

depression, substance abuse, or one or more of the other anxiety disorders.（創傷後壓力症候群往往與憂鬱症、藥物濫用，以及一至數種焦慮疾患併合發生。）

results in：動詞片語，導致，A導致B。例句：Inequality in wages results in likelihood of women living in poverty.（同工不同酬導致女性可能陷入貧窮。）

at any given time：補語、副詞，每次、任何時候。例句：At any given time the universe is giving you the best result possible.（任何時候，上天總是給你最好的。）