This militaristic outlook has led to the creation of a dangerous culture within and surrounding law enforcement. Militarism and access to weapons has created a phenomenon where police officers proactively pursue emergency situations. As Radley Balko cited from the ACLU in 2014, “Just under 80 percent [of SWAT raids] were to serve a search warrant, meaning eight in 10 SWAT raids were not initiated to apprehend a school shooter, hostage taker, or escaped felon (the common justification for these tactics), but to investigate someone still only suspected of a crime.” This ideology bolsters an already rampant issue of over-policing in some law enforcement agencies. In 2007, it was reported that deputies of Los Angeles County participate in a game
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In a survey conducted in 1997, 45.7 percent of responding departments reported training with military experts with a current connection to Special Operations, and 42.8 percent reported training with an expert with a past connection (Kappeler, Kraska 11). This is a considerable amount of police departments that have indirect exposure to military tactics. It is obvious that there is a sharing of ideologies between the United States armed forces and law enforcement. The mindset of military personnel is bound to develop in police officers if there is military personnel training with them. Kappeler and Kraska also note that “an entire ‘tactical’ culture revolves around PPU training in which units from all over the United States, sometimes other countries, join together in annual training competitions. Interagency training is also prevalent; [their] survey found that 63 percent of PPUs provide training to other police agencies” (11). Police officers are training in large numbers, again fostering the mindset of being in one massive monolithic fighting force, instead of being individual police units with jurisdiction over small local …show more content…
The ostensible purpose of the “Weed and Seed” program was to combine law enforcement efforts with those of social service strategies to revitalize blight ridden inner-city urban areas. However, law enforcement efforts often overshadowed social service strategies and the “Weed and Seed” program came to resemble a crime control offensive, led by law enforcement. (Meeks,
In a survey conducted in 1997, 45.7 percent of responding departments reported training with military experts with a current connection to Special Operations, and 42.8 percent reported training with an expert with a past connection (Kappeler, Kraska 11). This is a considerable amount of police departments that have indirect exposure to military tactics. It is obvious that there is a sharing of ideologies between the United States armed forces and law enforcement. The mindset of military personnel is bound to develop in police officers if there is military personnel training with them. Kappeler and Kraska also note that “an entire ‘tactical’ culture revolves around PPU training in which units from all over the United States, sometimes other countries, join together in annual training competitions. Interagency training is also prevalent; [their] survey found that 63 percent of PPUs provide training to other police agencies” (11). Police officers are training in large numbers, again fostering the mindset of being in one massive monolithic fighting force, instead of being individual police units with jurisdiction over small local …show more content…
The ostensible purpose of the “Weed and Seed” program was to combine law enforcement efforts with those of social service strategies to revitalize blight ridden inner-city urban areas. However, law enforcement efforts often overshadowed social service strategies and the “Weed and Seed” program came to resemble a crime control offensive, led by law enforcement. (Meeks,