Examinations of police militarization usually focus on special weapons and tactics swat teams, developed in the mid1970s in response to hostage or barricaded suspect incidents that patrol officers could not handle sufficiently. The increasing militarization of the police poses a real threat to american civil liberties, especially first and fourth amendment freedoms. Aug 20, 2018 militarization of police fails to enhance safety, may harm police reputation. Jan 05, 2016 one of the primary problems people have with police is the phenomenon of police militarization. The militarization of americas police forces cato institute. Police militarization in the trump era just security. Will the growing militarization of our police doom community.
Police militarization in america a positive or negative trend. The deployment of militarized police reflects the anticipation of extreme violence, of the type that could require a forcible response. Police militarization in america ramapo college of new jersey. Police militarization is a continuum defined by a combination of equipment, tactics, and culture that centers on violent conflict 7, 15, 16. Police militarization, in all countries and across any time in history, must be conceived of as the degree or extent of militarization. This includes the use of armored personnel carriers, assault rifles, submachine guns, flashbang grenades, grenade launchers, sniper rifles, and special weapons and tactics swat teams. It was such a well written piece on such an important topic in. The land of the free and the home of contradictions victoria ferrara1 in many ways, america has become the land of the free and the home of contradictions. Mar 01, 2008 while police militarization is a problem on city streets, it is even worse for anyone under police custody. Aug 23, 2015 vice meets s1 e34 radley balko on the militarization of americas police force. Beaten by inmates in march of 2006, john derek chamberlain, who was stopped by an officer for public urination then arrested after he was found to possess child pornography, was savagely beaten to death for 20 minutes by fellow inmates. Each era in united states history has posed challenges of how to best maintain the safety and protection of the people.
The requested documents did not constitute public records. The phrase seems to require that a the police may use certain kinds of weapons and b only those kinds of weapons, while c armies have other kinds of weapons, or unlimited choices of weapons. It first lays down the argument that police militarization correlates with a presumption of threat, through its preventive and collective attributions. Part iv presents the core of the case against police militarization. Vincenzo bove of the university of warwick, in england, and evelina gavrilova of the norwegian school of economics claim to find a causal relationship, whereby military aid negatively affects crime rates. On the militarization of our police texas public policy.
Militarization and policing criminal justice masters eastern. Today, the militarization of law enforcement provides an exception to that law through the creation of an ad hock military presence. The militarization of american police foundation for. The irony is that the goal of the police is to protect the rights of citizens, while in reality, the police has come to violate those same rights. First, it is primarily preventive rather than strictly reactive. The militarization of law enforcement is also associated with intelligence agencystyle information. Aug 15, 2014 police across the country are using militarygrade arms and equipment left over from u. If we consider a police officer to be an insurance policy against the very worst events, then we should also require. Militarization of police the professional gunfighter. But at least the first two of those requirements must be.
Militarization of police fails to enhance safety, may harm. Police militarization involves agencies changing themselves to follow the principles of the military model. December 2018 on the militarization of our police key points militarism is a philosophy in which there is a preference for the use of force to resolve all problems. However, evidence suggests that militarized environments have harmful effects on students. Police militarization is out of control, and theres no. Militarization fails to enhance police safety or reduce crime but may. Pdf the increased militarization of the police is exhibited in the clothing, equipment and tactics deployed in dealing with crime and public disorder find, read and cite all the research.
On the militarization of our police texas public policy foundation. Militarization and policing its relevance to 21st century police article pdf available in policing 14 november 2007 with 3,112 reads how we measure reads. Norm stamper, paramilitary policing from seattle to occupy. I did not choose the issue of police militarization because of its prominence in the. Pdf militarization and policingits relevance to 21st. When you put people in black military style clothing, have them drive around military issued vehicles and arm them with tactical war equipment, this is undoubtedly going to instill a certain psychological mindset upon the people using them.
Militarizing the minds of police officers the new yorker. Even the law itself has changed to reflect, and in fact enable, the militarization of the. While military weapons can some times serve a purpose in civilian law enforcement, the argument for their necessity should be subject to. The militarization of americas police may reduce crime. In our view, police militarization implies a presumption of threat because it exhibits two salient characteristics. The case against police militarization university of michigan law. Aug 14, 2017 police militarization has become an important consideration for departments across the united states, and agencies face questions about the seemingly routine use of military tactics and equipment. In recent decades, local police agencies have militarized their departments to varying degrees, adopting weapons, attire, tactics, and organizational structures developed.
First, we provide an argument that links police militarization and police violence. This assessment will vary considerably when viewing not only different police forces around the world, but even different police agencies with a decentralized system such as in the u. Aug 10, 2017 the effect of police militarization on crime, in american economic journal, 2017. In the face of the threat of an increasingly powerful police force, the american populace. The man had a long rap sheet, but the police said theyd let him go if he would tell them where they could find a supply of drugs. On the militarization of our police december 2018 4 texas public policy foundation performance, the stakes are very high, the unique skills and temperament separate a police officer from an ordinary citizen.
This essay examines the how and why of police militarization. When sir robert peel developed his plan for the london metropolitan police circa 1829which u. Militarization of police refers to the use of military equipment and tactics by law enforcement officers. Aug 14, 2014 police militarization is out of control, and theres no oversight kara dansky, a senior counsel at the aclus center for justice, is the author of war comes home. Across the country, heavily armed special weapons and tactics swat teams are forcing their way into peoples homes in the middle of the night, often deploying explosive devices such as flashbang grenades to temporarily blind and deafen residents, simply to serve a search warrant on the suspicion that someone may be in possession of a small amount of drugs. Militarization fails to enhance police safety or reduce crime. Policespecial weapons and tactics unitsunited states. Jun 15, 2011 militarization of police david rittgers, a legal policy analyst at the cato institute who served three tours in afghanistan as a special forces officer, laments the militarization of police in.
Police militarization, glenn greenwald wrote thursday, is the destructive byproduct of several decades of deliberate militarization of american policing, a trend that received a sustained and. The role of police officers is to protect our rights and keep the peace, while the militarys job is to annihilate. One argument is that, unlike military forces that exist to defeat the enemies of the united states in combat, the role of the police in america is to protect and serve their communities. The assimilation of police and military roles is evident in the way that police weapons, uniforms, and attitudes have changed. The 19 th century, progressive era, civil rights movement, war on. May 21, 2020 im bothered by the phrase, militarization of the police.
The increased militarization of the police is exhibited in the clothing, equipment and tactics deployed in dealing with crime and public disorder. The desire for maximum efficiency has trumped the preservation of a distinct delineation of the spheres of governmental force. Jun, 2018 police militarization in a democratic society by jay fortenbery, ph. Pdf the increased militarization of the police is exhibited in the clothing. Im bothered because im almost certain that the people using it cannot define it. This article was pulled from, written by a police officer in the dallasforth worth area. Next, we briefly introduce the reader to the 1033 program and why it is appropriate for studying the question at hand. Militarizationand policingitsrelevance to21st centurypolice. Jun 29, 2017 for the past two decades, david grossman, a former army ranger and selfdescribed product of a lawenforcement family, has been conducting police training seminars on the use of deadly force. Finally, using survey experimentsone of which includes a large oversample of african american respondentsi show that seeing militarized police in news reports may diminish police reputation in the mass public. It discusses the myth of what extreme political entities on the left and right have dubbed the militarization of police. To scale back the militarization of police, it is important to document how law.
The figure below illustrates the four central dimensions of the military model that constitute tangible indicators of militarization. Adoption of equipment from the 1033 program requires the approval of the agencys governing body prior to a request for such equipment being made. The imperfections in police militarization are not recent phenomena. Analyzing both existing secondary source materials and primary source data uncovered through the aclus public records investigation, this report examines the use of swat teams by state and local law enforcement agencies and other aspects of militaristic policing. In his 1796 farewell address, george washington warned americans about becoming involved in foreign entanglements. In a democratic society, law enforcement officers prevent social disorder, protect the public, and reduce crime while respecting the inherent freedoms of those they serve. Police militarization, therefore, is simply the process whereby civilian police increasingly draw from, and pattern themselves around, the military model.