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Tag Archives: Local Militarization

Police Fatalities Down; Violent Crime Down; Heavy Armor Up

21 Thursday Aug 2014

Posted by pnoetx in Uncategorized

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CATO Institute, Civil Liberties, Ferguson Missouri, Jay Nixon, Local Militarization, MIchael Brown, National Guard, Regulatory State, SWAT Teams, The Freeman

police

The ongoing situation in Ferguson, Missouri is volatile and probably dangerous for both police and protesters. This is mainly attributed to agitators from outside the community with a different, more violent agenda than the local protestors. Fortunately, as far as I know, no one else has been severely injured or killed in Ferguson in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death. The unrest, however, has highlighted a controversy over the recent militarization of local police in the U.S. One justification offered for the acquisition of surplus military hardware is the danger often faced by police in the line of duty. Yet the statistics cited in “By the Numbers: How Dangerous Is It to Be a Cop?” suggest that it has never been safer to be a police officer, and there are certainly occupations that are far more deadly. This undercuts assertions that the military gear is necessary for the safety of police. The author does not intend to minimize the difficulty and hazards of law enforcement: 

“They’re required to have daily contact with drunks, the mentally disabled, and criminal suspects. Arrests can often lead to physical confrontation, assault, and sometimes injury…. But it just isn’t unusually deadly or dangerous—and it’s safer today than ever before. The data do not justify the kinds of armor, weapons, insecurity, and paranoia being displayed by police across the country.” 

Perhaps we can leave the heavy armor and sophisticated weaponry in the care of the National Guard, for use only when the Guard’s involvement is judged necessary. (The Guard was called to Ferguson by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon earlier this week.) I noted several weeks ago in “Local Police or Local Military” that violent crime in the U.S. has fallen in half since 1991, deepening the mystery over the presumed need for heavy police armor.

We should also be suspicious of the militarization of federal regulatory agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education, and the FDA, which apparently all employ their own SWAT teams. “Let’s Demilitarize the Regulatory Agencies, Too” discusses these developments and efforts to roll back the “warrior cop” trend via legislation:

“There has already been left-right cooperation on the issue, as witness the unsuccessful Grayson-Amash amendment in June seeking to cut off the military-surplus 1033 program.” 

Local Cops or Local Military?

27 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by pnoetx in Uncategorized

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Civil Liberties, John Stossel, Local Militarization, Mark Perry, SWAT Raids, War on Drugs

drugs-swat

Violent crime in the U.S. is down by half since 1991. Why have we witnessed a militarization of local police forces? Why do we have 50,000 no-knock SWAT raids each year? Mark Perry asks these questions in a post quoting extensively from a recent John Stossel column on the subject. As Stossel observes:

SWAT raids are dangerous, and things often go wrong. People may shoot at the police if they mistake the cops for ordinary criminals and pick up guns to defend their homes against invasion. Sometimes cops kill the frightened homeowner who raises a gun.

And from Perry:

… people’s homes are often destroyed, infant children have been burned with stun grenades, hundreds of family pet dogs have been shot and killed, and dozens of suspects and some police officers have died in these violent paramilitary operations.

These SWAT raids should be alarming to anyone concerned about civil liberties. The unnecessary and wasteful war on drugs is behind much of this activity. Any physical threats to the public and law enforcement associated with drugs would vanish, much as they did with the repeal of prohibition, if drugs were legalized. The sophisticated weaponry being acquired by local police is often surplus from American wars abroad. The federal government’s provision of these armaments establishes a link and a potential dependence of local law enforcement on federal masters. The public should regard this with great suspicion.

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