Essay On Militarization Of Police

The Militarization of State and Local Police in the United States Military functions and police functions vary. The main function of the police is to maintain order within a community. While crime fighting is one aspect of their job, according to a study conducted in Baltimore by Christine N. Famega, James Frank, and Lorraine Mazerolle, about 76% of an officer 's time is undirected, while only 19% of their time is actually spent answering calls for service and the other 5% is directed (154-156). The goal of the military is to combat an enemy who is perceived as a threat to a certain country or region. Giving police access to military-grade weapons and tactics shifts police in the direction of a militaristic approach, and implies that the citizens are a threat. A variety of issues have been brought to the national spotlight involving the militarization of many officers on both local and state scales. Laws have been put in place to leave a clear distinction between the military and police. Despite numerous efforts to make the line between them more prominent, the distinction has been fading. SWAT teams have become an integral part of police departments. These units function in a …show more content…
One example cites an incident in Los Angeles. Two gunmen with full body armor were caught robbing a bank and found themselves surrounded by police. They proceeded to fire their guns at officers and the officers attempted to fire back (18). The issue lies in the fact that police were only equipped with handguns and; therefore, could not pierce the armor worn by the men. Law enforcement ended up having to wait for stronger weapons to arrive, but were eventually able to stop the gunmen (19). While this example shows how militarization can be beneficial, military weaponry and tactics should be viewed as an exception, instead of the