Investigating The Militarization Of Police Essay

The militarization of the police is becoming more and more prevalent issue in our society. There are positives and negatives to this issue, but in my opinion it is a negative occurrence. Excessive use of force further divides police and community, which eventually may lead to severe consequences that may be irreparable.

In both episodes of the television show “Cops”, the predominant race of the police officers was Caucasian. The primary officers for all service calls featured on the program were Caucasian. Of the two episodes observed, only one officer was African American. The suspects in both episodes were predominantly African American or Hispanic. Of the 6 scenarios featured throughout both episodes, two suspects were Caucasian.

In the film, Do Not Resist, Craig Atkinson illustrates the use of military weapons being issued to police; in addition, the differences of “Warrior” and “Guardian” mentalities in law enforcement. A warrior mentality, as described in Atkinson’s film, is referred to the mental tendencies of soldiers, focusing more on protection. Warrior mentality in officers is used to combat extreme situations, like terrorists attacks or hostage situations. On the other hand, guardian mentalities are focused more on serving the community more than protecting. Law enforcement officers have both the warrior and guardian concepts, some officers have more warrior than guardian while others have guardian more than warrior. It is important to understand the difference between the mentalities. To understand we see which communities have higher crime rates than others and see the kind of funds spent on weaponizing police. With those factors one can deduce what law enforcement stations have the ‘warrior’ persona. At what point do we say “enough is enough”, and take away big brother’s toys? As a nation, we’re only strong united. As the great JFK so powerfully said during the Civil War, “United we stand, divided we fall.” Our division of law enforcers, people of color, political affiliation, and other factors will be this society's inevitable downfall. Today’s society’s annihilation is inevitable because we do not have the proper leaders to guide this nation into prosperity.

Many people know of the police officers of today’s world and that it is their job to enforce the laws set by their government, but not many people know the history of your typical everyday United States police officer or how they came about. The idea for neither your everyday police officer nor his or her department they work for or how a police department operates, originated in the United States. Over the years though America has made changes and adapted its system over the years to make it more suitable for its countries beliefs and practices.

The role of police officers is very significant to American history. Police work toward protecting citizens’ rights and helping America become the land of the free. The United States of America is built from the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights and police play a major role in making sure American rights are met. Evolution has changed many of American history for the better; policing is part of those changes. As new issues in society arise, police must change and adapt to protect and serve the public.

It is no surprise that recently there has been controversy on the issue of police force. So many people have been taken from their families over something that could have been prevented without taking it as far as killing. From Michael Brown to Walter Scott it just doesn’t stop. Thankfully, for some of these incidents a witness has caught Officers using excessive force. But others, you just get to hear the Officers side of the story since the other person isn’t alive to tell their side to what happened. Which is definitely not enough. There needs to be a legitimate system where we can see everything that happens start to finish when excessive force is the case. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are demanding for

Schultz, D., Stewart, G. C., & Samuelson, C. (2014, August 27). A long, powerful history: How we militarized the police. Retrieved May 4, 2018, from https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2014/08/long-powerful-history-how-we-militarized-police Shinkman, P. D. (2014, August 14). Ferguson and the Militarization of Police. Retrieved May 4, 2018, from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/08/14/ferguson-and-the-shocking-nature-of-us-police-militarization Wallace-Wells, B. (2014, August 14).

Millions of free citizens around the world have reported misconduct by law enforcement officers. In the United States alone, 8,800 officers have been reported as using excessive force when performing their job (Packman). One of the major causes of excessive use of force by the police is anxiety and rage brought on by low compensation. The police is a force that is meant to protect the people against threats, not to be a threat. Police are not compensated enough for the dangerous job they dedicate themselves to perform each day. The Federal Government should provide a safe environment to properly maintain a lawful country. When police do not perform their job correctly, the environment is not safe. Therefore, the Federal Government needs to

Introduction: Police brutality and police militarization are becoming hot topics of discussion in the United States today. The dangers of police militarization are becoming more prevalent and cases of the use of brutal force by police are becoming more common. Recently, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump Administration’s repeal an Obama-era rule limiting the distribution of certain military equipment such as tracked vehicles, camouflage uniforms, high-powered rifles, bayonets, and grenade launchers. With events like that of the killing of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, by a police officer, a massive show of force by cops decked out in military gear were deployed after dangerous riots were conducted in the city. This then leads to the question at hand.

Police Agencies in modern society are a part of the American fabric to serve and protect the American public. The United States currently have more than 15,000 police agencies, (Walker & Katz, 2011). Police Departments across the United States face similar critical issues policing. All police officers face dangers in the job of policing the dangers can emanate from internal and external origins. Police officers have continued to evolve to serve communities by finding better less than lethal alternatives to weapons used. In addition, police departments have continued to keep up with

Since the founding of this country, to the wild west, and up to the present, the agenda of the policing bodies have been clear: to uphold and enforce the laws of our society. Of course the way they do this today had undergone changes from the first police forces of early America, law enforcement has seen trends come and go.

The media portrayal of policing is filled with both positive and negative representations of police work. As a result, a complex relationship exists between media consumption and public attitudes towards the police. The purpose of this study is to test the impact that media consumption has on attitudes toward police misconduct. The research design proposed for use in this study would be the experimental design, a two-group, posttest-only, randomized experiment.

Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister, African-American civil rights activist, and non-violent protest leader, once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Ali-Dinar 1963 p.1). Such an iconic and fearless leader recognized the unjust behavior within society as a result of racially motivated police brutality and societal discrimination. Though his efforts were not in vain, today’s media representation of law enforcement impacts the societal cultivation of police officers in a negative way. Media outlets, in the forms of television, radio, or social websites, create a cynical view of police officers, which influences societal beliefs and creates negative connotations.

Many people “do not want their police to treat their neighborhoods like war zones” (A). As a democratic country, the local governments should listen to their constituents and remove these militarized forces that residents fear will turn their secure neighborhoods into deadly war zones. Additionally, the ACLU found that, contrary to what law enforcement agencies may claim, “the use of military weapons and tactics tends to escalate the risk of violence,” instead of enhancing public safety (A). This means that the removal of these unnecessary law enforcement agencies will decrease the risk of violence and ensure that cities remain safe. In San Jose, the police themselves decided to get rid of their military vehicle, claiming that “it could be viewed by the community as the militarization of [the San Jose Police Department],” which “could create a divide [when] they want the community’s trust” (A).

Police Reform should be one of the many issues handled in the first one-hundred days of our new President’s term. The unrest and corruption are actions that do not belong in our police force. The criminal justice system needs revised. Since 1791 Americans have lost 20,789 officers killed in the line of duty (Law Enforcement Facts 1). To modernize this statistic, from 2004-2013 an average of 151 officers have died in the line of duty (Deaths,