Police Militarization Of Police

How does the Militarization of Police Affect the People?

“Guns not only permit violence; they can stimulate it as well. The finger pulls the trigger, but the trigger may also be pulling the finger.” - Leonard Berkowitz, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin. Leonard Berkowitz studied the aggression that people showed when they were in the presence of a gun or weapon. His research found that the sight of a weapon automatically caused aggression. What does this mean and how does it correlate with the militarization of police? This could conclude that having military gear makes police more aggressive towards the people they’re supposed to protect. But then, what about the people who are faced with this military gear? The Elaborated

This legislation made it possible for U.S. military partnership with civilian law enforcement. The reason why they wanted this collaboration was to fight the growing war on drugs at the time. This act had the U.S. military sharing information, facilities, training and of course the use of military equipment. Another big push towards militarization was the creation of the Department of Defense Excess Property Program, a federal program in the early 1990’s, also known as the 1033 Program. This program was created under President Bill Clinton. The 1033 program has distributed $4.3 billion of military equipment. In 2013, $449,309,003.71 worth of military property was given to law enforcement. It’s not only the military gear that has police using excessive force. A Department of Justice investigation on the Philadelphia Police Department found that officers are trained into using excessive force. In this investigation it was found that many officers justify their use of deadly force by saying they’re “in fear for their life”. You’ve heard many officers say "whatever I need to do to get home safe." The problem with this is, they see the people they’re supposed to protect as a threat to them. Also, their instructions on policies for the use of force is confusing and most training scenarios end in force; rarely being trained on how to solve problems peacefully. The most important finding was that 80% of the shooting victims were black since they were more prone to to be seen as a threat. Racial profiling is the reason why black people are targeted more. People defend racial profiling by saying that 9/11 is a prime example as to why you should profile. Another reason is that minorities commit the majority of crimes. Black people are involved in drug offenses proportional to their population in the