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Militarization of police

Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team members, some armed with assault rifles, preparing for an exercise
A large group of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) SWAT officers in tactical gear at a Lakers parade in 2009

The militarization of police (paramilitarization of police in some media) is the use of military equipment and tactics by law enforcement officers.[1] This includes the use of armored personnel carriers (APCs), assault rifles, submachine guns, flashbang grenades,[2] sniper rifles, and SWAT (special weapons and tactics) teams.[3][4] The militarization of law enforcement is also associated with intelligence agency–style information gathering aimed at the public and political activists[5][6] and with a more aggressive style of law enforcement.[7][8] Criminal justice professor Peter Kraska has defined militarization of police as "the process whereby civilian police increasingly draw from, and pattern themselves around, the tenets of militarism and the military model".[9]

Observers have noted the militarizing of the policing of protests.[10][11] Since the 1970s, riot police have fired at protesters using guns with rubber bullets or plastic bullets.[12] Tear gas, which was developed by the United States Army for riot control in 1919, is still widely used against protesters. The use of tear gas in warfare is prohibited by various international treaties[13] that most states have signed; however, its law enforcement or military use for domestic or non-combat situations is permitted.

Concerns about the militarization of police have been raised by both ends of the political spectrum in the United States, with both the libertarian Cato Institute[14] and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)[15] voicing criticisms of the practice. The Fraternal Order of Police has spoken out in favor of equipping law enforcement officers with military equipment, claiming that it increases the officers' safety and enables them to protect members of the public and other first responders (e.g., firefighters and emergency medical services personnel).[16] However, a 2017 study showed that police forces which received military equipment were more likely to have violent encounters with the public, regardless of local crime rates.[17] A 2018 study found that militarized police units in the United States were more frequently deployed to communities with large shares of African-Americans, even after controlling for local crime rates.[18]

Many countries also have at least one gendarmerie, which is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population.

France classifies some weapons as "intermediary force weapons" such as its LBD 40 refitted version of the Swiss B&T GL06 military grenade launcher, which is used in riot police situations or against individual persons in more specific interventions.

While not having the full power of military guns, some weapons are heavier than regular police weaponry and are still lethal. These are often referred to with the "limited lethality" appellation.

  1. ^ "Militarization of Police In the United States". Charles Koch Institute. July 17, 2018. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  2. ^ Texas Rangers, Department of Public Safety, Branch Davidian Evidence Archived January 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Investigative Report No. 1, September 1999; Investigative Report No. 2, January 2000 (PDFs available at Texas Rangers website). The Rangers found that the FBI used grenade launchers to fire two 40 mm M651 grenades. The Army considers the M651 a pyrotechnic device and that it is known to cause fires. The Army Tech Manual for the M651 warns that it can penetrate 3/4" plywood at 200 meters and "projectile may explode upon target impact". During inventory of the Waco evidence the Texas Rangers also found flashbang grenades.
  3. ^ James Joyner (June 15, 2011). "Militarization of Police". Outside the Beltway. Archived from the original on December 21, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  4. ^ Paul D. Shinkman (August 14, 2014). "Ferguson and the Militarization of Police". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  5. ^ Michael German (December 18, 2014). "Why Police Spying On Americans Is Everyone's Problem". Defense One. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  6. ^ Josh Peterson (March 25, 2014). "State lawmakers push to rein in police spying". Fox News Channel. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  7. ^ Ryan Van Velzer (June 24, 2014). "ACLU: Free military weapons making Arizona police more aggressive". The Arizona Republic.
  8. ^ Jodie Gummow (August 29, 2013). "11 over-the-top U.S. police raids that victimized innocents". Salon. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  9. ^ GLENN GREENWALD (August 14, 2014). "THE MILITARIZATION OF U.S. POLICE: FINALLY DRAGGED INTO THE LIGHT BY THE HORRORS OF FERGUSON". The Intercept. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  10. ^ "Crisis and Control". uchicago.edu. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  11. ^ "Congress scrutinizes police militarization before planned Ferguson protest". aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  12. ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plastic+bullet Archived June 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine "A solid PVC cylinder, 10 cm long and 38 mm in diameter, fired by police or military forces to regain control in riots."
  13. ^ e.g. the Geneva Protocol of 1925: 'Prohibited the use of "asphyxiating gas, or any other kind of gas, liquids, substances or similar materials"'
  14. ^ "20. Stopping Police Militarization". Cato Institute. February 16, 2017. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  15. ^ "Police Militarization". American Civil Liberties Union. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  16. ^ "Militarized or Modernized?". FOPConnect. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  17. ^ Ryan Welch and Jack Mewhirter (June 30, 2017). "Does military equipment lead police officers to be more violent? We did the research". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  18. ^ Mummolo, Jonathan (2018). "Militarization fails to enhance police safety or reduce crime but may harm police reputation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (37): 9181–9186. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115.9181M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1805161115. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 6140536. PMID 30126997.
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