Militarization of police
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.
France[edit]
French police since the Charlie Hebdo shootings started to issue heavier guns to police instead of the standard SIG Sauer SP 2022 pistol issued per default. Before this heavier guns were only given to elite units but some units are now getting heavier weaponry such as the anti-criminality brigades which was given H&K G36 assault rifles.[34] 18 of the 19 shootings with this weapon were accidental discharges, the first year when this weapon was issued to anti-criminality policemen.[34]
Companies Republicaines de Sécurité which are an anti-riot unit are issued grenades which are classified as war weaponry in France. While gas weapons are forbidden for military use by the Geneva convention, which is signed by France too, no restriction applies to civilian use.[35]
In 2021, basing himself on the model of the Gendarmerie France's Interior's Minister Gérald Darmanin said he wished to extend the police reserve of 30 000 reservists (against the 5000 men reserve) to "recreate links" with police forces. This comes during the protests against the Loi Sécurité Globale.[36][37][38]
Germany[edit]
In 2016, the German police introduced a new special unit, BFE+, which is designed to "counter terror attacks".[39] Criminologist Rafael Behr says the new BFE+ "mainly serves as a psychological reassurance for the public", serving as a "symbolic" effort and a functional effort.[39]
The functional aspect is that with the BFE+, the government can use armed forces with military weapons inside Germany, an act that is "currently banned by the German constitution".[39] The 250 person BFE+ will be added to the existing GSG-9 unit. Behr states that the BFE+ will be able to "launch large-scale manhunts", using an "end of the policing spectrum" which "borders on war-like or military action".[39]
Mexico[edit]
Mexico's new national police force, the Gendarmería, is partially staffed with active duty soldiers, part of a longstanding trend towards militarization of the country's Federal Police.[43]
According to a 2020 study, the use of torture by police has persisted in Mexico even though Mexico transitioned to democracy. Torture is still used due to "weak procedural protections and the militarization of policing, which introduces strategies, equipment, and mentality that treats criminal suspects as though they were enemies in wartime".[44]
Effects[edit]
A 2017 study found a statistically significant positive relationship between militarization of the police and fatalities from officer-involved shootings.[164][165]
Two studies in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy concluded that federal grants of military equipment to local police under the 1033 Program led to a reduction in crime. However, these studies were criticized for using inappropriate data. Studies that used better data failed to replicate the findings of those studies.[166][167][168][169]
A 2018 study published in the journal PNAS found that "militarized police units are more often deployed in communities with large shares of African American residents, even after controlling for local crime rates". The study also found that "militarized policing fails to enhance officer safety or reduce local crime".[18]
In popular culture[edit]
The 2015 video game Battlefield Hardline depicts a militarized police, and it depicts both police and criminals wielding military-grade equipment, including rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers. The developer's insistence on "fantasy" while meticulously recreating LA areas and loosely basing crimes in the game on real-life crimes has subsequently been criticized.[170][171][172]
The documentary Peace Officer, which is about police militarization in the U.S., won the 2015 Documentary Feature Competition Grand Jury award at the South by Southwest Film Festival.[173][174]
The documentary Do Not Resist by Craig Atkinson is also critical of the phenomenon of police militarization, as exemplified by law enforcement training courses taught by retired military officer Dave Grossman, who tells police officers, "You are men and women of violence." The film won the award for "Best Documentary Feature" at the Tribeca Film Festival.[175][176]
