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Jesse Magaña

Prof. Darrel Lowe

CJS 344

11 February 2019

Militarization of Police

The militarization of police is a very complex issue, and like all complex issues there are

pros and cons that must be taken into consideration. However, in this case I believe that the cons

definitely outweigh the pros.

To start off, you have the NRA or the National Rifle Association, hilariously

contradicting themselves. On one hand they believe that law enforcement should be equipped to

face whatever threat faces them. The American Warrior article mentioned in Mother Jones

states, that the police are depicted as victims since “Nobody seems more targeted these days than

those who serve in law enforcement.” Which would be completely fine if the statistics didn’t

prove that statement wrong. Mother Jones reports that not only felony police killings and assaults

have gone down significantly since the 1970’s, but violent crimes in general have also gone

down as well. To be fair it is completely fine for the NRA to believe that police officers are faced

with more danger nowadays, but they need to back up their opinions with evidence that supports

their claims. On top of that the article also states that the NRA still regularly warns people that

the U.S government will eventually crack down on its citizens who own firearms. So, it begs the

question why would the NRA want the people who will “eventually crack down on gun owners”

to be much more militarized? Is it because they genuinely feel that police lives are at stake or is
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it because the same companies that throw piles of money into the NRA also heavily profit from

law enforcement militarization?

Another con is that police officers don’t exactly need to be that equipped, its just not

practical. I will say they needed to be equipped with more than they had in the 1970s for

example but to the level they are now is just taking it way to far. Law enforcement is basically

equipped to go to war, which would be fine if we lived in a country that required such weapons

and equipment. However, as I stated before violent crime rates have gone down drastically,

violent crimes against police officers have gone down even more. I understand that they should

probably be prepared for the worst, mass shootings have been on the rise since the 1990s.

However, how prepared do they really need to be? Mother Jones reports that the Pentagon has

given local police departments “600 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs), 80,000

assault rifles, 200 grenade launchers, and 12,000 bayonets.” Mass shootings are very dangerous

scenarios, but do they really require that level of preparedness? I can’t recall the last time an

active shooter was armed with mines, explosives, and anything that would require a bayonet of

all things.

All this equipment seems even more unnecessary when you take into consideration what

SWAT teams actually do on a day to day basis. The teams that are armed with all these militant

accessories serve warrants more commonly than face militant groups. Again, it would make

sense if we lived in a country like Syria or Venezuela which are currently are basically warzones

due to civil war, but the fact if the matter is, we live in the United States. We don’t face those

problems here on home soil. The equipment seems like even more of a bad idea when you take

into consideration that on the rare occasion when they do conduct drug or weapon raids, only
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half of the time do they find anything. That means half of the time they storm into a private

residence armed like the military, disturb the resident, and walk out with nothing to show for it.

Its even worse when you think about the people, they give these weapons to. In the article the

journalist overhears one of cops tell his team, “If I see someone with an upside-down flag, I’m

going to punch him in the face” (regarding the protestors outside the facility). Now this may

seem like a no substance statement among friends, but the article also includes a link to very real

times that SWAT teams have killed innocent people. I understand that law enforcement feels like

they need to be prepared, but I don’t think they should be given the crazy amount of equipment

they receive. It will only do more harm than good in the long run.
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Bibliography

Bauer, Shane. “The NRA Comes out in Support of Warrior Cops.” Mother Jones, Mother Jones
and the Foundation for National Progress, 24 June 2017, www.motherjones.com/crime-
justice/2014/10/nra-warrior-cop-police-militarization/.

Bauer, Shane, et al. “Inside the Billion-Dollar Industry That Turned Local Cops into SEAL
Team Six.” Mother Jones, Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, 24 June
2017, www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/swat-warrior-cops-police-militarization-
urban-shield/#.