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 /  Writing Services  /  Criminal Justice  /  Essay: Empowering Civil Protection Forces: The Militarization of American Police Forces

Empowering Civil Protection Forces: The Militarization of American Police Forces

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Abstract

Militarization of Police includes agencies altering themselves to follow the principles of the military model. During the past 10 years, several academic discussions and books have provided anecdotal investigations of this topic. Inquiries of militarization of Police usually concentrate on Special Weapons and Tactics teams, which were developed in the 1970s in response to captive or blocked uncertain incidents that round officials could not handle adequately. Principally, Special Weapons and Tactics teams prevailed in huge law enforcement agencies, but over the time they emerged in county sheriff’s offices and smaller police departments. Possibly militarization weakens the public relations necessary for active policing. The public seems to have faith in that using strategic equipment, weapons, and other properties appears “more meticulously similar to military operations than domestic law enforcement”. Regrettably, discussions regarding militarization generally have not included police agencies.

Introduction

Militarization of Police is well-defined by scholars as the “development whereby civilian police progressively draw from and pattern themselves around, the views of militarism and the military model.” This system solidly happens when a civilian police force adopts the operational tactics, mindsets, the equipment, or culture of the military. Public mindfulness and handling of militarization of police has largely attentive on the acquisition of military equipment by police, such as armored vehicles, aircraft, and weapons. Since the beginning of 1990s, the Department of Defense’s 1033 program has provided local law enforcement agencies access to military-grade equipment. This program, now extended by President Donald Trump after President Obama tried to limit its use, permits local law enforcement agencies to obtain surplus Department of Defense device that would then be destroyed because it was no longer beneficial to the military. Above 8,000 rule enforcement agencies have used the 1033 program to access about $6 billion worth of military kit such as armoured vehicles, bayonets, grenade launchers, night-vision goggles, machine guns, and military aircraft. Other items that can be accessed by local law enforcement agencies through the program include field packs, canteens, sleeping bags, and ponchos (J. Mosteller, 2018). The improved use of military equipment has concurred with an increased use of armed diplomacies, such as Special Weapons and Tactics teams and no-knock raids, by law enforcement agencies. Of Late, police departments from Charlotte, Ferguson, and Southampton have received condemnation for their use of military strategies. A study says that use of paramilitary-style teams by law enforcement improved by more than 1,400 percent since 1980 (J. Mosteller, 2018).

Police Militarization Statistics

Drawing verdicts about the influence of militarization on public safety and police use of force is tough because study on this topic is both uncommon and miscellaneous. A study from 2017 Says that every 10 percent increase in the value of military device received by a county outcome in 5.9 fewer crimes per 100,000 residents. Nevertheless, when seeing the military-grade arms exactly, the same study found that receipt of these ammunitions had minimal or no restrictive impact on crime. Multiple researches have agreed concerns about the militarization of police, showing that it results in law enforcement using higher levels of force against citizens. In general, militarization of police statistics seem to suggest that utilizing certain types of military equipment may result in reduced crime within a community but increased use of force by police officers against community members (J. Mosteller, 2018).

Issues and Violations

The replies of many jurisdictions following the events in Ferguson are illustrative of other complications with the militarization of police: violations upon federalism and a lack of omission by the people law enforcement is sworn to serve and protect. For instance, to protect equipment through the 1033 program, law enforcement agencies submit applications directly to state co-ordinators in each jurisdiction. This permits local law enforcement agencies to acquire the military equipment, acquired with federal tax dollars, without any appropriate blunder by state lawmakers or local city officials. The current construction of the 1033 program lets law enforcement agencies avoid the traditional principles of federalism and avoid the appropriations process meant to protect citizens from extreme government spending (J. Mosteller, 2018).

Ill Effects of Increasing the Might of The Police:

Moreover, principles that accompany the receipt of property under the 1033 program create perverse incentives for local law enforcement agencies to ensure they

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