Police Militarization

One of the biggest domestic problems facing America today is the debate surrounding law enforcement. While some justify the increased use of military-grade hardware by law enforcement officers as necessary for the protection of the community and the officers themselves, others see a disturbing trend in the lack of oversight in the training and methods used by some police officers.

One of the key issues surrounding the law enforcement debate is the issue of military-grade equipment being used by police agencies. For example, some police departments have received armored vehicles, assault rifles and body armor, and intimidating masks and helmets as a result, in part of the surplus of these sorts of materials. The argument to be made, of course, is whether or not a police department actually needs a mine-resistant vehicle intended for use in war-ridden countries in order to enforce the law in American communities. The fear of foreign attacks and terrorism has, in part, contributed to the expansion of this idea, however as I have discussed, there is virtually no statistical reason to believe that a police agency will end up using their materials for these reasons, realistically.

Perhaps the biggest complaint to be made is that most law enforcement officers do not receive proper training on how to use the materials they are now being given, and the result is a emboldened group of people who search for opportunities to use their new-found equipment. For instance, use of assault rifles by police officers has risen dramatically over past years, however in a real military situation it is incredibly foolish (and in fact, very dangerous in some cases) to point them at someone you do not immediately intend to shoot. So, when a police force deploys people equipped with assault weapons and body armor for a drug-raid, and we see images of people being arrested with guns pointed at them, that is an example of misuse of police hardware.

Further, on the topic of drug raids, the foremost reason SWAT teams are deployed in the US is for drug raids, despite the fact that these teams are equipped to handle terrorist attacks and hostage situations. Studies show the deployment of excessively forceful units actually elevates the danger in situations where negotiating and common tactics would have been preferable, putting law enforcement officers in more danger.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the obvious racial disparity in law enforcement. Not only is there a major issue in many towns in the difference between the proportion of the population of black residents and the proportion of black officers, but black citizens are significantly more likely to be the victims of aggressive law enforcement and profiling. And, to predict a commonly made argument that locally high crime rates are responsible for these unusually high rates, studies have long since disproved this idea. There is no correlation between local crime rates and police violence; in other words, police are not more aggressive in some areas because of crime rates, they are quite simply aggressive everywhere.