Militarization of Police

Police officers - protecting and serving local jurisdictions

How do departments/officers accomplish their goals?

  • Patrol, community interactions, patrol, community events, patrol, investigations, patrol

    • mostly patrol

Crime control/prevention:

  • Is traditional policing effective?

    • yes and no

  • Is proactive policing effective?

To Be effective police rely on what? The Community (the community must alert police when crimes happen. Good community relations

Political protests and UCLA/Las Vegas Shooting

US Military/Solders - protecting and serving the US internationally

Mission statement of the US army:

  • The US Army’s mission is to fight and win our nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of the combatant commanders

Police officers or Soldiers

Police officers

Soldiers

Protect the general public from internal crime, respond to calls for service

sworn to protect the US as a whole from enemies foreign and domestic

Generally exude service and assistance

Generally authorized by executive or legislative branch

Equipment

Increase of officers using assault weapons

  1. public perception of an occupying force

  2. Officers identifying more with the military than law enforcement/policing

Department of defense has a surplus program that gives law enforcement agencies getting military trucks, and gear

  • Departments have to show a need in order to get it

    • They must use it in order to show a need

Vice Documentary

Read “rise of the warrior cop”

Regan and the war on drugs → making surplus military equipment to domestic police in order to fight drugs. You have to show proof that you need it

How many cults are there in America??

Rand Paul is the good guy???

White people use drugs at the same rate as black people

When you are in military gear, you are in the warrior mentality

FBI Miami Shootout

  • April 11, 1986

  • Robbery suspects William Matix and Michael Lee Platt known (only as suspects) to FBI for past bank robberies

    • FBI was conducting a rolling stakeout searching for possible stolen vehicles thought to be utilized by the suspects

    • Agents identify suspect vehicle, collision ensues

      • 8 FBI agents on scene, two suspects

      • FBI agents were armed with issued side armed and shotguns (of little use at distance/minor relative stopping power)

      • Suspects were armed with a shotgun, a semi-automatic rifle, and a revolver

  • Subsequent FBI investigation concluded standard sidearm lacked necessary firepower penetration potential

    • Suspects had more firepower. 2 FBI agents were killed.

    • FBI then adopted a more powerful pistol

North Hollywood Shootout

February 28, 1997

  • Larry Phillips and Emil Matasareanu rob a bank of America branch

    • Extensive training included reconnaissance of the branch, monitoring police scanners to determine police response time, extensive equipment and weapons

    • 3 fully automatic riffles, semi-automatic, 3,300 rounds of ammunition

    • Utilized body armor with varied levels of added protection as well as phenobarbital to calm their nerves

  • Responding officers engaged the two but were heavily out-gunned

    • Officers only had issued side-arms and shotguns, neither of which had the necessary impact potential to defeat the robbers body armor

    • SWAT responds within 18 minutes with issued AR-15 type rifles and light body armor. They commandeer an armor truck to evacuate the wooded

  • Shootout ends after 44 minutes with both gunmen dead

    • Police fired approximately 635 rounds while the gunmen fired

Balancing the need

SWAT and other specialized units are necessary (North Hollywood shootout)

  • Otherwise National Guard/Active Duty military would have to respond (which is illegal)

    • Would take a super long time to do that anyway

DoD 1033 Program

  • Military surplus available to domestic law enforcement agencies

  • Officer and community safety

  • Beyond backpacks, fatigues, and boots

    • issued approximately $5 billion dollars worth of inventory since 1990

      • Includes MRAPs, various aircraft, utility trucks, Humvees, APCs, bomb disposal robots, various tactical fear

    • Given to at least 17 school districts, 130 college and university police forces have receive equipment through the program

Does it work?

No, SWAT teams (most visible militarization) likely reduce public support for police

  • Impact on community policing efforts?

  • Research of survey respondents indicated images of militarized police units correlated with lower interest in police patrols in home neighborhoods

May increase tensions between police and marginalized communities

  • Research (based on Maryland SWAT deployment) indicated most deployments were to non-emergency events

    • Serving warrants in predominantly African-American communities

Acquiring a SWAT team also does not indicate a reduction in crime

May be related to general deterrence but at a significant cost to public relations