Militarization of Police

1265 Words6 Pages
Introduction The militarization of the nation’s police forces may have taken off after September 11, 2001, but in reality started long before that dreadful day. This paper is going to look at the issues which brought on not only the change itself but will also look at misconceptions and misunderstanding of the American public. Local police have been forced to evolve with the changing threat to their communities and learn more advance tactics to protecting their citizens. To begin we will look at what the issue is and why militarization of police has become an issue. The Issue Since September 11th 2001 the United States have been at war with terrorists who have brought the fight to America’s homeland. This is not the first time wars have been fought within the American borders, but recent events in history have kept the majority of fighting off of American soil. “The militarization of domestic policing in the United States coincided with the onset of two ongoing "wars": the "war on drugs," which began in earnest in the 1980s, and the "war on terror," which assumed much greater dimensions in the early 2000s. Like any other war, these conflicts utilize military personnel, equipment, and tactics to combat and eradicate real and perceived enemies” (Hall & Coyne, 2013). On 9/11 terrorist where able to murder over 3,000 people many who were civilians. This one act changed the focus of not only the federal government but also local law enforcement agencies who were charged with protecting the front lines on American soil. In reality the attacks on 9/11 were a catalyst to the already changing American society. “Military appearance, tactics, operations, weaponry and culture, including the rise and normalization of police paramilitary units, are all components of the country's post-9/11 counterterrorism efforts
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