There is perhaps no other topic that generates public controversy and divisive opinion than that which pertains to the question: What is the proper role of police?
Doubtless, the criminal justice system has undergone massive change over the course of the last 20 years in the wake of the 9-11 tragedy in New York. World events have caused many Americans to question what they want their policemen and women to do on a daily basis. Should they, for example, be public servants, who “Serve & Protect?” Or should they be soldiers, policing the homeland to fight the war on terror? Do we want them to be exclusively focused on drug crimes, leaving violent crime, white collar crime, and other offenses to languish without resources and attention? Or perhaps we want them to be social workers, who just so happen to carry a gun to work every day?
Policing Evolution or Revolution? The New Military Urbanism
Authors Stephen Graham and Radley Balko both argue in their respective books, “Rise of the Warrior Cop:The Militarization of America’s Police Forces” (Balko) and “Cities Under Siege:The New Military Urbanism,” (Graham) that a shift is underway, where military doctrine, battlefield tactics, and methods of population control are increasingly being integrated into urban police forces. These developments, according to Graham, “dramatically blur the juridical and operational separation between policing, intelligence, and the military; distinctions between war and peace; and those between local, national, and global operations.” The end result of this process is what he calls the “new military urbanism.”
Aggressive police practice, while not new, is getting increased attention due to the proliferation of social media and organizations dedicated to calling attention to high profile incidents of police crime and violence.
Normalizing Police Violence: Order Maintenance Policing
As we have discussed in class, the military equipment associated with SWAT operations and the military mentality that the use of such equipment apparently breeds is not confined to those special operations units. Increasingly, they’re permeating all forms of policing.
In the recent time period, since the turn to the 21st century, the two dominant models of policing have been the Community Policing Model and the Order Maintenance Policing Model. In terms of what we see put into practice (despite a lot of “happy talk” to the contrary) the Order Maintenance Model has apparently won out. This has occurred despite overwhelming research and evidence that demonstrates community policing models are more effective – Order Maintenance models potentially create more problems than may have existed in the first place. The Order Maintenance Model is a model that appears to be built for police militarization, with its emphasis on harsh counterinsurgency tactics.
Community Policing – officers wear traditional uniforms on foot patrol in Philadelphia
Karl Bickel, a senior policy analyst with the Justice Department’s Community Policing Services office, observes that police across America are being trained in ways that emphasize force and aggression. The dominant model in police training today is a stress-based regimen that aspires to mimic military boot camp. This model has replaced the more relaxed academic setting that a minority of police departments still employ. The result, in his view, is that young officers become acculturated to an idea of policing that privileges “kicking ass” rather than working with the community to make neighborhoods safe. Likewise, we increasingly see police departments adopting different versions of the military battle-dress uniforms (BDUs) for patrol officers. These militaristic, typically black or olive-drab jumpsuits, according to Bickel, make them less approachable and possibly also more aggressive in their interactions with the citizens they’re supposed to protect.
Oddly enough, the authoritarian approach stands in opposition to the dominant philosophy that distinguished twenty-first-century American police thinking: community policing. This model of policing was intended to emphasize “keeping the peace” by creating and maintaining partnerships of trust in the communities served. The community policing model, which also happens to be the official policing philosophy of the U.S. government, sees officers as protectors that are also problem solvers; they’re supposed to care who lives in their community and about how their community see them. According to this model, officers don’t command respect, so much as they earn it. Rather than aiming to instill fear, officers are supposed to work to foster trust.
Police Recruiting
Police recruiting videos (like those from California’s Newport Beach Police Department and New Mexico’s Hobbs Police Department) don’t play up the community policing angle, but rather emphasize military adventurism and aim to attract young men with the promise of Army-style high-tech toys. Policing, as depicted in videos like the one shown here, isn’t about calmly solving problems; it’s about the boys “getting their war on” and breaking down doors in the middle of the night.
Now compare this video to a recruitment video produced by a New Zealand police department. Can you see a difference? Compare and contrast the two approaches. What themes do you see being are emphasized in American and New Zealand videos and how are they different? How do you think the two approaches might result in different types of people being recruited and hired for police work? In which of the two examples do you see future officers being taught to operate as a domestic occupying army, where citizens are potentially viewed as enemy combatants? Which police force would you rather work for?
A small research project at Johns Hopkins University appears to back up Bickel’s claims. People were shown pictures of police officers in their traditional uniforms and in BDUs. Respondents in the survey indicated they would much rather have a police officer show up in traditional dress blues. Perhaps like this?
Summarizing the survey findings, Bickel writes, “The more militaristic look of the BDUs, much like what is seen in news stories of our military in war zones, gives rise to the notion of our police being an occupying force in some inner-city neighborhoods, instead of trusted community protectors.”
This is consistent with other research undertaken by researchers in criminology, who have concluded that the order policing model is deeply implicated in the rise of the new military urbanism. This model stands at odds with the community policing model – the “serve and protect” model – that many assume to be the dominant policing model.
Militarizing Childhood
Research on the interaction between police departments and children is presently lacking. Judging from the photos below, efforts to instill a military mindset appear to start early.
Drill Instructor, Asbury Park NJ Youth Police Academy
Summer camp for kids run by the Cumberland, MD police department.
Police Militarization Doesn’t Affect Me
Unfortunately, despite the torrent of photo/video evidence that has become commonplace in today’s fluid media environment, this is not enough to foster meaningful change in the way we deploy police officers in our communities. Absent action at the policy level or the grassroots level, where individual citizens organize and agitate for change, we are left to continue to speculate how long it will take to remove what we are told are simply “a few bad apples.” The images have become almost an entertaining source of “outrage” consumption, but again it’s not bringing about changes in practice.
For many of us (perhaps college students in particular), the brutality depicted in the video clips is not likely to touch our lives (or so we think). Police violence is quickly becoming normalized in U.S. culture and this is a problem. The vast majority of citizens don’t have regular police encounters, given that the focus of policing tends to be in poor minority communities, where the residents are poor, assumed to be violent, and are judged as deserving of the added police attention.
In light of all this, if you are still not disturbed by any of this, if you are not concerned about socializing children into a culture of violence (not simply firearms used for hunting) but more, and/or you simply don’t think police militarization is a problem for society, then it’s unlikely additional evidence or research will convince you otherwise. Perhaps at some point in the future, if you are subject to an accidental no-knock raid on your home that kills your dog or maims your child (it’s okay, it was an innocent mistake), you might arrive at a different understanding. But until then, you’re good.
Okay. Let’s take a different approach, since caring about the physical, emotional, and inhumane trauma inflicted upon your fellow citizens is not a priority; let’s look at how this hits you in your wallet. Consider the following statistics as a taxpaying citizen:
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- San Diego paid $5.9 million to compensate for sexual assault against multiple women by one officer.
- A city southwest of Tucson AZ spent $3.4 million to pay for one deadly SWAT raid.
- Boston settled a single case of police brutality for $1.4 million that left a man with permanent brain injury.
- Scottsdale AZ paid $4.25 million for the fatal shooting of an unarmed man.
- Baltimore paid $5.7 million in private settlements plus an additional $5.8 million in legal fees for police brutality.
- Minneapolis paid close to $21 million since 2003
- Oakland CA paid $74 million from 1990 to present
- Los Angeles paid $54 million in 2011 alone; recently they paid $1.5 million on a single case of a California Highway Patrol officer beating a homeless woman senseless at a traffic stop.
- Chicago paid $521 million over the past decade; $84.6 million in 2013 (includes court and legal fees).
Pepper spraying cop goes to Kent State
And the King of them all ……
The New York City Police Department spent nearly 1 billion dollars on settlements in connection with police brutality; 964 million from 2000 – 2010; $765 million in 2012. The New York figure is expected to reach $815 million by 2016.
Keep in mind, most of these city-wide figures do not always take into account the legal costs of cases that are processed through the “justice” system, where violent police officers are excused and victims are left with nothing. It doesn’t count the money individuals who are not compensated must spend to take care of medical expenses (like the parents of the baby hit by the flash-bang grenade, who were recently told by their local municipality that there was no evidence of wrongdoing and that no damages would be awarded).
Discussion Questions:
What do you think about concerns as this pertains to the militarization of police? Do you think this is a problem?
Do you think police forces should patrol their neighborhoods like soldiers or should they interact with the public in a different way?
What if lawsuits and settlements were taken directly out of police budgets (instead of taxpayer funds)? Do you think that would have an impact decreasing police violence and brutality?
What if individual police officers were required to obtain the equivalent of malpractice insurance? [this is a standard practice for attorneys, medical doctors, and other professionals]
When you reflect on your own encounters with police, do you think of them as civil servants who “serve and protect,” or do you see them as agents of repression and/or “revenue generators” whom you regard as potentially hostile?
Do you think there may be links between socio-cultural factors, where people raised in a culture that glorifies gun ownership and violence may be prone to see police violence as a natural and just response to crime?
Do you think violence is “normal” within police culture (not a simple matter of a few bad apples) or do you think we can easily weed out the bad actors through disciplinary action?
How do you think police training might contribute to the problem of police brutality and violence?
When you see videos like the ones depicted here, do you think incidents of police violence are increasing, or are we finding that social media combined with aggressive reporting has simply increased visibility of a problem that has always existed?
Italian Police. Not bad.
Sources
Some of the content for this post appears in an article written by Matthew Harwood, entitled “To Terrify and Occupy: How the Excessive Militarization of the Police Is Turning Cops Into Counterinsurgents.” You can find the full content of the article posted here.
When it comes to the police taking a military approach, I think that it is completely wrong and there is a huge problem with it. I do think those police officers that have jobs in higher crime rated cities should have better training and better equipment but I think the thought process of police is all wrong. Police will shoot unarmed civilians but if there is an active shooter they will freeze up and not do their jobs. Most people that want to be police officers are young men who just want to act like they are larger than life and they are given guns and sent out on the streets. I think police officers should have much better mental training before they are given guns and not understanding the consequences of taking a life. Or they do understand and they just don’t care. I think police officers nowadays want to shoot first and ask questions later, and when someone is killed wrongfully, they can use the excuse that “they felt that their lives were threatened” and they can basically get away with anything. There can be videos of these people being extremely violent and killing someone unnecessarily and they can still get away with it with that simple line. Even with the body cams that officers wear, they still get away with things that they should not. This all stems from them running around acting like they are in the military and they need to patrol and be hard all the time. When I saw the video from the California police department I completely agree with the fact that it showed off the cool guns and toys, and not the community work that goes on with it. I look at police officers as not being able to be trusted, and with the media coverage and them not being punished, there are not a “few bad apples,” All of them are bad until they begin to be held accountable for what they do. I think if they have to pay out of their own money, they would think twice about doing something that would cause a lawsuit because it would actually affect them and their families.
I am very concerned with the militarization of police forces in the U.S. As a former member of the military I am familiar with the mission of the U.S. military, and it does not align with what a police forces mission. Not that the military does not do other things, but its primary purpose is breaking stuff and killing people. The police should have a mission of protecting and servicing. Those missions are not the same; therefore, they both require different training and different equipment. Cops should be in their neighborhoods trying to help people, not intimidating the people. While I see the need to have SWAT teams, they should be rarely used, not serving simple warrants.
The recruiting videos show a vast difference in attitudes about what the police do. The Newport Beach looks a lot like a military training video. While the New Zealand portrays police that cares about the community and wants to keep New Zealand safe. I know which type of police force I would rather have protecting me. Hopefully, most would agree that the police should be there to help the community instead of living in a police-state.
Do you think police forces should patrol their neighborhoods like soldiers or should they interact with the public in a different way?
I do not believe that just one way or the other can be attributed to all policing situations.
In neighborhoods with low crime rates, for example communities maybe with a high average socioeconomic status, there may be less violent crimes for police to have to deal with, and in that case, I believe the militarization of the police force can be toned down significantly. When there is no reason to have such a powerful police force, a regular policing scenario would work well. They can interact with the people of the community because there is no worry, or very little, that something very dangerous could erupt. I am not saying it is not possible, anything is, but unlikely.
In neighborhoods with high crime rates, for example communities maybe with a low average socioeconomic status, there may be more violent crimes the police have to deal with on a daily basis. In this case, I believe the police should be more militarized, because they have a genuine reason to fear for their safety when in violent prone areas. With all the crime, normal policing scenarios cannot take place, it is just too risky. The use of force is unfortunately the language all people understand in scenarios like this.
To conclude, I believe that there are different scenarios that require different amounts of police force. Not every neighborhood can be policed by Bob The Friendly Cop or Officer G.I. Joe. I believe the decision on the level of policing should lie with the community leaders working with the community and statistical crime experts.
I see a concern with the title militarization of police. I don’t think that military and police should be mixed, and that militarization should be the last option and deescalation should be the first. The police should interact with the public in a sense that they are there if help is needed and give a sense of not being scared to call or even look at. They should try to get to know the public and treat people with respect. I think this would definitely decrease police violence and brutality, but could also hurt the public as well. If the police get into a situation where they would have to shoot someone because someone might get hurt they might be scared of being sued or fired from their job and not able to support their family. I believe having equivalent malpractice insurance will show less results, but is the better option in decreasing police brutality. In my own encounters with police i see them as civil servants who serve and protect, and to me not hostile, but very reasonable and calm. I believe socio-culture factors links with some violence and police violence due to the sense of danger felt in that particular area. I think violence should be one of the last options when handling situations and that deescalation should be trained more as the first option rather than violence. I think the training of police officers has a lot of self defense and weapon training and not enough deescalation. I think that with the finding of social media and having a camera on our body the whole time we are in public has increased the awareness of police brutality.
The concerns I have are that police are supposed to handle citizen cases and the people that they handle should be treated as a citizen. Police are being wrongly trained today. They are given a sight that everyone is an enemy and that everyone is out to get them. They are trained to have no emotion, to have no sympathy for their suspects. They are told to just get arrests and meet their quotas. I believe this is a major problem.
I believe police should not patrol neighborhoods like soldiers because they are supposed to be like us, but there to correct our wrong doings and influence us to do good. I believe the police should put themselves out there as someone who wants to help the community, involve themselves with the people of the community. They should put forth a good image of themselves.
Lastly, when I see a police officer I always feel as if I’m doing something wrong. I slow down even when I’m going the speed limit, I make sure I am not doing anything sketchy, etc.
That is not how someone should feel when seeing a protector of your community. You should feel safe and thankful for their service, but in turn you are frightened and have a sense of distrust in these forces.
Yes I do think that police training might contribute to the problem of police brutality and violence. Actually I know police training is the problem because of the research I found about the way police officers train. The way police officers train is most of there training is action and only less than a quarter of there training is communicating. I think the police training should be more communicating then action because like the saying “ you practice how you play” meaning the way you practice or train is the way you will perform in a game or in this case the way you will perform in a situation.
I think the police should interact with the public in a different way rather than patrol their neighborhood like soldiers. Yes it is there job to protect but also part of there job is to keep the area safe. The police should know and interact or almost know everybody around the neighborhood. A police officer came to one of my classes and we got a chance to ask her questions. She said back in the day police use to interact more with parents to the point parents kids would go say hi to the officers as in the police and people were close. But now a days she said parents tell there kids to not do anything bad around the police or the police will take you away to jail. The police should be trying to make the neighborhood better by knowing there neighborhood, knowing the type of people there dealing with, and the problems these people could be facing. It goes back to my last point police need to communicate more then reacting out of fear.
Personally I see the militarization of police officers as both a positive and negative thing. In this country we have a lot of issues with our officers not having the best communication skills with our civilians, being very stereotypical, and prejudice towards minorities and the poor. I believe that police officers need more rigorous military like training where they go over a lot of scenario on better ways of approaching and dealing with civilians.They also need to be trained on better tactics to use when disarming people, learning how to make better connections between knowing when to show excessive force and when not to. I personally think this may become an issue if the wrong police officers are being trained. Personally I believe there are more negatives to this but overall if these officers are coming more militarized there will need to be certain laws installed so when cops misuse their power that there is an adduquent consequence for that.
There should be a difference between how police officers should interact with the public and not like the military. There is a problem with militarizing the police. When they are training they use the same methods as the military which is wrong. The military deals with war and threats, it does not make sense to train police the same as them. Police officers become what they are to protect the community. Being around them should have a feeling of safety, not fear, or someone who young children can look up to. People should not be afraid of the ones who are supposed to protect them. When you look at the military you may think something horrible is happening, like an attack or threat. The military is used to fight a big enemy. They are not there to get to know a community or socialize. They to fight for there life against an enemy, which a police officer should not do.
I feel as if Police should both patrol their streets as soldiers and interact with the public in a different way. Cops obviously have to protect themselves when patrolling the streets but they can also interact so that people don’t just think that cops are out to take people to jail. The cops job is to protect and serve, and they need to follow that. Cops seem to excessively try to find the bad things people are doing instead of protecting people. Cops should patrol as soldiers so that they use the power to try and intimidate people so they can show their ranking of authority and to make the environment a safer place.
I do think that the militarization of the police that we are seeing today is a problem for not just the people that it directly affects, but to the rest of us as well. It isn’t a police officer’s job to go around shooting people like they’re in a war zone. It’s their job to be a community “helper?” They are supposed to go in the community and make sure everything is okay and to be there for when someone needs their help. It can be difficult, I would. Assume, to do a good job at helping the community when you are treating you job the same way a soldier would their job. The worst part of the situation when an officer treats his/her job like this is that it makes it a much more daunting task for someone to approach an officer to talk to them or ask a question. If settlements were taken directly out of a police force’s budget, there would definitely be a decrease in police use of force, as the officers would be afraid to get sued and consequently get reprimanded by their superiors. This could also cause negative affects as well, as there are times when police are required to use force, and they may be afraid to do anything at that point because they don’t want to get sued for it, even if it would be justified in the end. This outcome would probably be better than innocent people being hurt or killed by police because they used excessive force. If individual police officers were required to have malpractice insurance, this would possibly fix the issues we see today, because if an officer does do something they shouldn’t do, they will have to pay much more for their insurance, so they would probably decide not to do anything that’s against the law or their station’s rules. This could also have the same effect I mentioned earlier where police would just not do anything in situations where they should probably intervene, in fear of getting in legal trouble just because people think they may be able to make a quick buck in court.
Do you think violence is “normal” within police culture (not a simple matter of a few bad apples) or do you think we can easily weed out the bad actors through disciplinary action?
I do think violence among the police community has become more frequent in our everyday lives. So much so, some may see it as a usual thing. Like we watched in the documentary surrounding the NYPD 12, many precincts adopted a quota based system for arrests. When officers are forced to hit a set amount of numbers a month, situations that could be resolved peacefully become violent just so an arrest can be made. Because of the recent rise in police brutality cases I do not think there are only a few “bad apples” in todays criminal justice system that need to undergo disciplinary actions. Instead, I think officers are not being trained properly in how to deal with high stress situations. There are so many officers that would rather jump straight to the hard way of resolving an issue instead of taking time to consider all options when it comes to handling a situation. An example of this is the video we watched in class of the little girl getting tased for stealing food. The officer was trying to justify his actions by telling this child she should have listened to him so he didn’t have to tase her. There were different, less harmful ways to deal with that situation but he chose to go straight for something that would cause the most harm to her. I am not saying all officers are bad, I am saying there are a lot more than a few that need help in handling high stress situations.
There is no doubt that there is a problem with police forces in our country. There are too many stories about police brutality and officers going too far when it was not necessary. The militarization of police is a big concern when it comes to officers in local communities. If they are trained similar to the military, that is what they will treat a community like. They will be more worried about themselves, rather than the concerns of the people that live there. Their minds may also go to a “act now, ask questions later” ideology which will only lead to more issues with local police and excessive use of force. Instead of patrolling neighborhoods like military soldiers, they should be interacting with the public and asking, “what can we do to make the community safer?” Listening to the local people and their concerns will give police officers a better understanding of what is going on in the area, and how they can protect people and make a positive difference. Interacting with the public would also make police officers more approachable to others in the area, which would make the bond between officers and the public stronger. If we change the way we hire and train police officers, we can begin to fix the police brutality issue that is plaguing our country.
After reading this article one of the concerning things from this article is that local law-enforcement is being prepped with military weapons also with like military uniforms. Soon it may get to the point where law enforcement; they will become unapproachable towards the community. Another concern is how police officers are being taught. Law enforcement are learning more intimidation tactics instead of ways to calm a situation without force. Law enforcement patrolling neighborhoods is not the problem. The problems comes when you get that one patrol officers who abuses his power and steps out of line with his character in a community. It makes all law enforcement look bad. If the law settlements came out of the law enforcement budget. That may be the solution to decrease police brutality. Take the money for mistakes out of their pocket. When they spent all their money on settlements and don’t have any money for other resources. That’s when they really might make a change. No one really takes action on a situation unless it affects them personally. If law enforcement had to inquire malpractice insurance then it may shine light and start decreasing on a serious problem that the police force has
There is without a doubt a problem of police brutality in our country. Now does police militarization help or worsen this problem? In the article it mentions a study from John Hopkins University, where people were shown cops in traditional uniforms, and come in combat BDU’s. The survey concluded people would much rather have a cop in traditional uniform. Personally, I would not feel safe or want to approach an officer who looks dressed for combat. Police are meant to be community protectors, NOT fully geared soldiers. Granted, there is a time and a place. SWAT teams must be called in for certain circumstances, and their equipment and expertise in the equipment is called for. However, patrolling police should not look ready for war. An officer dressed like that will feel more invincible and have more power go to his head. Give an already unstable officer even more power and this is how brutality happens. It is not a friendly look, and I would argue that it intimidates every citizen, not just those of color. Police officers that would have to obtain malpractice insurance could be a good thing. This would make officers think one extra step before they commit some sort of injustice. I truly believe most officers are good, but there has to be extra investigation to weed out the corrupt power hungry individuals.
I personally feel that community policing is great when it is utilized in the correct way. It takes away from the “kick ass” type of mentality. Working with the community to fix problems in a friendly and positive manner can be very good for reputation and the community itself. It is not a good idea to contunuosly keep giving officers black jumpsuits as if they work for a SWAT team. No one wants to approach someone in a SWAT uniform. Keeping the peace is such a good goal to have with a community. Why would you want your citizens to be afraid of you and not have the courage to approach and talk to you? None of that makes any sense to me. We have SWAT teams for a reason. They may be over used in todays world but they still have their purpose. The only overlap for SWAT and police should be protecting citizens. The community should feel comfortable approaching a police officer and talking to them. There is no reason to make a police officer more unapproachable then they already have become in the world we live in today. I have no problem with protecting police officers because they do a lot that puts them in harms way and they hav the courage to do such things. However, we have crossed the line and made them into a police like SWAT team and just a police force anymore.
In some people’s eyes the militarization of police is a bad thing. I believe it is a good thing in the sense of order. If the military is trained a specific way without problems, then there should not be when it comes to the public. The main difference between the military and the public is that the public does not listen to rules, regulations, and laws. If the public would listen, then we would not have to standardize the militarization of police. I believe police forces should do a mixture of both military patrols and interactions with the public. Law enforcement agencies are not there to be your friends. They are there to protect the public and make sure rules, regulations, and laws are put into effect. A strong police presence may deter criminals compared to less officers on duty. I believe if lawsuits and settlements were taken directly out of police budgets then you would have a negative effect on the publics well-being. If anyone who has an encounter with police can sue then the police will stop doing their job just so they could save their job. Crime would ultimately rise and police activity would decrease. If individual police officers were required to obtain the equivalent of malpractice insurance, then that officer would need to be paid better. There are many police officers who do not even make $40,000. $40,000 to not only be a law enforcement officer, but a counselor, medical aid, and so much more. If you want to add even more stress, then they would need to be compensated for it. From my experience I think of police officers more as civil servants who “serve and protect” way more than as agents of repression. I do believe there may be a link between socio-cultural factors. I do believe violence is normal within police culture. Violence is something we see almost every day. Police violence almost seems strange when violence is not involved. With current budgets I do not think police training seems to have a major problem. Media only shows the “bad” police officers and not the “good” ones. There are “bad” people in every industry. I believe if the public continues to disobey police orders then the violence rate will go up. All you have to do it listen to the officer and if you disagree then take it to court. If you think that you are going to try to fight or talk your way out of a police confrontation, then something is wrong.
Yes, I believe that police officers should interact with the public in a different way, because them patrolling the streets in their uniform can potentially cause problems. Just imagine being a teenager of color; they will definitely have a different reaction than a white teenager walking down the street and seeing the cops. It makes us nervous even if we are not engaging in criminal activity. The way society is set up now days we believe that we are the number one target when the police notice us, and we become nervous when we spot the police because we do not know if these police officers patrolling our neighborhood are going to be ignorant. I don’t believe violence is normal within police culture, because there are some police officers that do/did no wrong but we do have them officers that did wrong that has not been punished. The system could definitely weed out the bad actors with disciplinary action only if the disciplinary action is being terminated of their position. Police officers job description is to serve and protect the community, but that does not happen when they are so belligerent with these people they are supposed to protect. They basically work for us but they decide to treat us like we are some type of peasant. So the question “Soldier or Police Officer?” I say soldier because they act like they are apart of a war zone.
When police recruitment videos promise a job in which one can overpower, control, or kill they are going to get power hungry and unstable candidates who are willing and happy to take on that challenge. Police recruiting should involve finding individuals who are intuitive, good with people, and have excellent communication skills as well as being effective negotiators. A community should trust the police and not fear them. I have seen so many incidents, some on real TV and some in person in which the police use unnecessary force for no reason at all. Bullying and fear may prevent someone from committing a crime, but trust through communication and understanding as well as fairness have greater results in the long run. If people are afraid of the police, especially minorities, they may not engage the police when they have been a victim of a crime or if they have information about crimes. Often when minorities reach out to police for help, they end up being victimized by the police. This avoidance of police intervention by minorities can lead to increasing criminal behavior within the community. There needs to be a hard push toward community policing and away from militarizing the police.
It makes me sad that police are so aggressive with people. I understand that they need to do their jobs and are suppose to “enforce” the law but when does it become to much? How is it okay to physically hurt people when your job is to serve and protect? With that being said I’m also really sad that people put all police in one category. Not all police are out there hurting people and pin pointing who they pull over. I understand that it is an issue that we have racism and redlining but not every police officer is out there to hurt people. I think it’s a bad idea to militarize police because they need to have compassion. We don’t need soldiers in the streets we need people who care about others. They put such a “tough” facade on police officers instead of realizing they are human and they need to have compassion to. Police shouldn’t be worried about meeting their goals they should be worried about protecting people.
I believe that militarizing police officers is a bit extreme especially within living communities. Doing so gives police officers more power and authority to utilize forces that might be unlawful regardless of the race. Patrolling neighborhoods in vehicles doesn’t give the officers the ability to study the natural behaviors within a community. Being on foot and interacting with the community enables the officers to gain respect from the community and help them more in a time of a crisis. Creating a familiarized face in the community eases tension amongst citizens who may have biased thoughts about police officers. Patrolling on bikes allows officers fo interact, but also give them mobility to move around faster than they were on foot. If lawsuits were to take funds away from police departments other than tax payers dollars, I believe that it may alter the police system by changing their method of using force and reaching their quota. The mentality of a police officer will then be pressured by the possibility of obtaining a negative record by have a set amount of lawsuits against them. It may end racial profiling in poor areas. Police violence and crime is normal amongst police officers. All officers learn from their mistakes and most of their mistakes come from the different levers of social backgrounds, lack of experience, poor training and police discretion amongst one another. I believe that police officers should be trained differently with operating weapons. Instead of shootings to kill, why not shoot to injure? Injuring someone prevents them from pursuing the same crime over and over again.
I think police officers should interact with the public in a different way. I feel that policing a neighborhood like a soldier makes things worse in general. I have always heard the saying “if you give a little you will get a little.” I feel this is actually a big thing. I know that in my community and also knowing a few cops in the community, there are things that happen that need to be handled but also the community is very calm. My parents went to high school with one of the cops in the community and if he drives by the house he will talk to any of us if we are outside. But also if there is something weird going on by the house and we notice it and my parents will message him, he will stop by or drive by and see what is going on. I see cops every day in my community and they never stop someone just to stop them. I have not seen someone stopped by the cops in years and I drive a lot. I am sure they do stop people but it is very rare. The community right next to me which is the same school district acts in the same way. I was working the other day and there were young kids outside (during school hours) and instead of the cop being rude to them, he stopped and had a civil conversation with the children and handed them stickers and went on with his day. I have been pulled over for not completely stopping at a stop sign on my way home and the officer let me off with a warning and was very nice about it. I look at other communities and see how their police are and see why those communities are. I have had a friend just speeding and this was near school. He is Puerto Rican and he got ripped out of the car and his face shoved into the ground. If you seen him you would never think of him to be someone the cops do this to. He has also gotten stopped by the cops before for other reasons and he was harassed by the cops because he has two last names because of being Puerto Rican. They thought he was making up his name but in reality he just has two last names. These incidents happened around school. One in McKeesport and the other in Homestead. Comparing the different communities, the McKeesport and Homestead officers seem to be more like soldiers instead of handling the incidents in a different way. Police officers acting like more like soldiers will just make it worse on themselves. If they act with the public in a different way I feel they will get a better or different result with the community.
I believe that the police force should not be patrolling the neighborhood like soldiers because that immediately puts a title of violence on them. Rather than walking around appearing to be ready for combat, they should be working to better their relationships with the people inside of the communities that they are trying to keep safe. This would also probably relay the idea on non-violence and encourage people to not move towards aggression if they are unhappy with their current situation.
Also, the recruitment videos for the United States and New Zealand are antagonists of one another. The America one is basically enforcing the use of violence, and they are basically trying to recruit people who will focus on the use of weapons and aggression. They place fear within the words “police officer”. In the New Zealand one, the officers were very divers whether it be with ethnicity, gender, etc. There were also no weapons shown and they seemed to focus on the safety for the residents within the community. They also aim to come off as very approachable individuals. These videos were interest two very different types of people. It seems to be that the American police force is getting exactly what they are looking fro in terms of ideal officers.
I honestly do not think police militarization will become a huge problem. Yes there is always room for concern but that could go for anything. Police militarization seems to have some sort of correlation to the increase in advance technology that is why it is something I am least concerned about. I do not think the police should patrol neighborhoods like soldiers because then it seems like we are under marshal law 24/7. Police should interact with the community act more as a friend then a authority figure. If lawsuits were taken out of police budgets I doubt it would settle police brutality I actually think it would bring about other problems. I really don’t know if police should get the equivalent of malpractice just because other professions get malpractice close to theirs. From my own experience when interacting with cops if only run into those with the “serve and protect” mentality but I’m sure there are those out there ho act like civil servants and cops today are depicted as hostile according to the media. I use to think that gun violence for cops is the only answer because that’s what I saw on tv. But that’s because the news only wants to show the violent police not the ones who do their jobs the right way. I honestly don’t think violence is related to police culture as much as people think they want to go around shooting anyone who gives them a dirty look it isn’t the case. And of course, your going to have bad apples but every profession is going to have those and you can try to do something about that. I do think police training has something to do with police brutality the world is become to violent and cops are not trained long enough to fully deal with situations and then the end up escalating simple problems in to big ones. These videos kind of depict danger in the job but a lot of police work is just sitting around I think they start to build up trigger finger because they didn’t get to do what they signed up for and fight crime.
I have personally had any problems with police, but reading from other states or other departments it does raise a few concerns. After seeing videos of police shooting unarmed suspects or exerting too much force against someone who has already submitted, I wonder how officers are taught WHEN to use their weapon because it seems like for most they shoot first, ask questions later. I’m not quite sure what training officers here have, but my research paper is about the use of weapons in comparison to other countries police force. For example, in Japan, police RARELY use their weapon because they are taught to avoid using their weapon until it is no longer possible. Since that is the case the Japanese police force is trained in martial arts and it is their primary means of neutralizing suspects. In comparison to our country, it seems that police pull their weapon to threaten the suspect into submission.
As police modernize their tactics, they are also modernizing they way they handle those they are sworn to protect. I do not believe that a normal neighborhood police unit should not be dressed as if they are ready to go to war. I believe there should be a balance, if a community police office is dealing with matters that are out of their limitations they should be able to resort to another resource which would be the SWAT-like group. If they were to patrol my neighborhood dressed as paramilitary groups they community itself would be in fear of police taking over. It would start a bad relationship between the younger generation and the police. The youth would see them as a threat and be persuaded by their family that the police are harmful and not on your side. I believe police officers should be held accountable for their actions, for unnecessary deaths caused in the line of action, because at the end of the day you still took a life and that’s something the family has to deal with.
I don’t believe violence should be “normal” within police culture. It may have become that way overtime, but it’s not how things should be happening. Yes police should be tough figures to show you there is a consequence for your wrong doing, but being violent losing the respect of your authority. I think police should be able to handle things without being so violent. Yes not ever suspect is the same and some need more strength to control, but there’s a line between what’s stopping a suspect and what’s being violent. When police become overly violent there should be actions taken against them. They are there to protect and serve not beat up on the neighborhood. If lawsuits and settlements were taken out of police budgets, there most likely would be an impact. Taxpayer funds are what pays the lawsuits and settlements even if it’s within the police force. If the police budget was the account to suffer and not taxpayer funds, maybe police would think again before using violence.
The Police are becoming more and more of a threat than a protecting service at this rate, which is both concerning and another growing issue. By doing little to check the mental well being of police officers we’re putting our civilians at risk of harm. It takes a set of precautions in order to ensure the safety of others that we are not taking part to. Police are trained to obey by certain rules, for instance “filling quota” that sometimes pulls out the worst in them and leads to unfortunate incidents that lead to traumatic experiences. It puts everyone around them at risk of harm. It’s what certain instances of police brutality have stemmed from and after seeing it for so long, such an awful thing becomes “normalized” to the public, similar to how this generation sees school shootings as a normal occurrence after so many have taken place.
Police in general should not be seen as a fearful force but a helpful aid that we can knowingly depend on instead of fear. While it is important to instill a heroic confidence in the heat of pursuit, it isn’t a constant need to keep that fearsome vibe whilst interacting with normal civilians. The fact that the police are now going to have access to a heavier load of weapons now isn’t going to help the problems that we already have here and the tall, fearsome force that many have grown not to trust after all of the incidents. Simple patrols instead of acting as a military force would do just fine, along with many other mental precautions in order to get what they so desperately lack nowadays, the trust of their civilians.
Police should be friendly with civilians and invest time in their community. We should see the local police departments getting involved with career days at local high schools, events in the local area, and other activities that will attract positive attention to themselves. Civilians should know the police officers working in their area and the officers should get to know the community that they protect everyday as well. If police officers had to pay for the way they treated civilians, I believe there would be lesser police brutality cases. To me, it’s extremely “funny” that people who are being victimized or brutally beaten by law enforcement are literally paying for it. After seeing some of the $ amounts that taxpayers had paid for police brutality, I can surely say a San Diego officer would not be able to pay 5.9 million on his own for sexually assaulting women thus meaning, he would most likely think twice before laying a finger on anyone. I have had very few encounters with police officers but both times I was very nervous especially because of all the police brutality issues I read about and see on social media. In West Reading, I believe the police department acts as a revenue generator because they give tickets out as if they’re candy for simple things, as little as parking over the white lines. Also, they are very ruthless in the courtroom. Personally, I got myself into some trouble with the West Reading police department, and while in court the police officers made sure to make another citizen look extremely stupid. The citizen would say one thing, and four other police officers would laugh and say, “THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAID WHEN I PULLED YOU OVER!!” It doesn’t matter how horrible a person is, there is no need to ridicule and act like a bunch of assholes just because you have a steady career where you can get away with practically anything. ^^ just felt the need to summarize my feelings towards the West Reading Police Department. The problem with our police training is that we aren’t training people to be officers that interact with the community in a positive manner nor care about how civilians are treated. The officers we train now only care about looking cool and guilt tripping anyone who does something illegal (speaking out of personal experience). For example, when I ran into trouble with the West Reading police department the big focus from the two young american offices was, “I never ever did this, why the hell would you?”
I think that police forces should patrol their neighborhoods like neighbors, and not like soldiers. It’s easier to police a neighborhood from the inside rather than the outside. By this, I mean that the police need to become a part of that community in order to be better at their jobs. By interacting with and getting to know people in a neighborhood or community there exists a mutual respect and trust between law enforcement and citizens. People are more comfortable around the friendly neighborhood police officer who says hello and gets to know people, than the violent looking police officer who doesn’t seem to care. Last semester I wrote a paper for my criminology class about community policing. During my research I found many benefits of community policing. Police officers were holding meetings open to the public where they could socialize with police and express any concerns they had about public safety in their neighborhoods. Police officers were able to speed up investigations by being able to identify and find people faster. Community policing lessens the amount of violence, because people are more willing to work with officers they know. I think do not think police forces should patrol their neighborhoods like soldiers because it creates fear within communities, and that fear causes a lack of respect, which means a lack of communication and cooperation on both ends. Ultimately, this just makes the situation worse.
Police militarization is easy to fix. I believe that police officers need to be less forceful and more of a service to their community. Police officers should be looked at as a kind workforce rather than a threat to human life. Instead of putting criminals in jail the police should be focusing on how these groups of people are becoming criminals. If lawsuits and settlements were taken out of police budgets, this would have a small effect on police violence because those policemen who are forceful and threatening will continue to have the same effect on society. I think malpractice insurance among police officers would increase police brutality because it would be something police could fall back onto instead of facing consequences such as jail time or loss of job. My own experience with police officers seems to go one way or the other. The officer is either very respected around the community and is seen as a nice overall person, or the officer is just someone who is in it for the money and wants the power and uses it for his own purpose. I think that a person who grows up in a community where gun ownership is glorified might think that police violence is something that happens and are mostly self-defense. I think that police brutality isn’t just one bad person, its multiple bad people. If these officers were punished correctly for their wrong ways, then the number of bad officers would quickly decline. Police training involves skills and tactics on how to protect and serve. I think that police violence is increasing drastically and social media is making many people aware of these issues and is forcing the nation to retaliate towards officers.
Especially with our previous discussion being the militarization of the police, and now this is the interactions with the police, they really do go hand in hand and are beginning to paint a horrific picture of a future that’s becoming more and more likely. You have officers that are being trained simply to be aggressive without a focus on community interaction, and then you’re also arming those people with armor and weapons found in the military. No doubt it will reach a breaking point, or perhaps has already reached that point, where the people the police are supposed to serve are no longer seen as people. All of them are just biased stereotyping based on their ‘racial profiling’ and no one will ever be ‘innocent until proven guilty’ again.
If police brutality wasn’t as forgotten about, wasn’t as mainstream, then maybe things could have been different. But since it’s become somewhat of a terrible norm now, it’s going to be very, very hard to break this cycle of brutality. Old habits die hard, or they won’t ever die at all.
Militarization of the police is becoming a problem. It began with the idea that we as a community want to give our capable law enforcement the tools to protect the community and stay safe while putting their lives on the line from day to day. However, this idea derailed from a strong defense to a strong offense. Instead of asking “How many ways can we help keep this community safe?” the current militarization asks “How many ways can we take down a potential threat or end a threatening situation?” and it’s starting to get scary. I absolutely agree police should don a more traditional uniform when out on patrol. If I ever saw a police officer in person wearing several pieces of body armor and wielding multiple arms, I would feel this officer to be a threat to myself, and if I make the wrong move, I could be reduced to nothing by this officer. If the same officer wore a more casual but traditional uniform, I would feel inclined to greet the officer and ask him or her how his or her day is going without feeling threatened or anxious about making a wrong move. Local law enforcement is the bridge between government and the communities, but also the bridge between a single person and the community at some times. Not only do these people need to be trained to work within the community, but the also need to be approachable.
I’m not sure if hurting the police funds and budgets would affect the rate at which we see police brutality happen, but rather have police departments find ways to hide the evidence. I have nothing against law enforcement, but I am familiar with the situation of when departments are threatened to lose money, they find the quickest solution to reduce the possibility of that consequence. Malpractice insurance is an interesting thought, but that says that the community and the police department recognize police brutality exists, and instead of trying to end this bad behavior, we would rather prepare for it to occur and be ready to make pay outs to the damaged community. The idea is not to have departments cover their butts with funds, but for departments to fight police brutality and the aggressive culture surrounding it.
In my experience, I have found law enforcement to be the “civil servant” rather than agents of repression. My own personal experience with police involves my car being on the left-hand shoulder of a highway because I had a flat tire. Shortly after I pulled over, the officer arrived behind me, and do you know what he did? He helped me replace my flat tire! The officer remained casual in conversation asking questions about school, where I live, the situation, and how to change a flat tire. He asked for my license and registration, and then left. At no point did the officer pose as a heavily armed threat to me or my vehicle. At first, I was a bit nervous to see him pull up behind me, but I wasn’t nervous for long. In the end, I happily thanked the officer, and safely merged onto the highway. If everyone had my experience, and every officer behaved like the one I encountered, we wouldn’t have to arm our law enforcement in order to keep them safe. There calm, amicable manner would be their sword and shield.
i believe more police departments should adapt the community policing approach because it has proven to make people more comfortable around the police as they get to know more and more officers. this will help the police be seen more as a smiling face instead of the oncoming death that is the dominant model that has been adopted today. i do think that if we take lawsuits and settlements out of the police budgets they will think twice about taking the swat gear out in situations such as possible drug raids.
police training should not focus on violent tactics. instead the police should focus on human interaction, and creating a positive environment for the citizens. police should be trained in hand to hand combat in case of emergencies, and still train them in fire arms, but only a few should receive the swat training. the few that receive it should be people who have proven themselves tough, yet not willing to put a bullet into someone unless absolutely necessary.
I am somewhat happy about the militarization of police but overall I think that it is being taken too far. On one hand I am glad that police are being put through harsh training because they will be able to protect the people in the cities they are working in. However, with how police are being militarized they are much less approachable. People should not be scared of the police in their community. Their job is to keep people safe and help people who need it. They can not do their jobs effectively if people do not trust them. I do not have much personal experience with police but my family has had many interactions with them that make them seem like they are just trying to meet a quota. And in relation to one of the videos, many police officers are joining because they want access to all the weapons and privileges one gets as a police officer. Overall, it is concerning what the police are becoming in our society. The negatives seem to outweigh the positives and it will most likely get worse.
I think that the police forces should interact with the public in a different way and not patrol their neighborhoods like soldiers. If the police forces patrol like soldiers it won’t make the neighborhood feel like they are able to talk to the police or feel save in their own neighborhood. Police is supposed to protect and serve the citizens in the community. I believe that the police forces should interact with the public differently. In today’s society the police have been looked at as “bad people” with all the recent police brutality happening. If the police interacted different I feel that the neighborhoods will be more comfortable talking to police forces.
When people witness police holding military grade weapons almost makes it look as though police are portrayed as being in the military. Due to this, most United States citizens view police as a problem and not the solution. With that being said, this major problematic event occurs simply because the types of guns that are being shown to the public, either on television or in person. This also pertains to how police should act around public neighborhoods. Thus, police forces should patrol neighborhoods as a positive advantage to interact with the general public. By doing so, will not only influence that individual neighborhood, but the entire country as a whole will start to admire police once again. For instance, when the Boston police finally captured the Boston Marathon bombers the people in the streets applauded and celebrated their hard work. Even one officer said “It has been a very long time since fellow people have celebrated the hard work of the police”. With my own brief encounters with police officers in Berks county I view them as more of “serve and protect”. I say this because, police are sworn in to ultimately serve our country and protect those who are in need of help. When it comes to police and violence, I believe it is not normal for them to have to use violence while on the job. From personal experience, I know many officers who have never shot their gun while on the line of duty. This could also pertain to past generations where police have not even ever shot their guns. With that being said, comparing police violence in the past to police violence of today is exactly the same, the only thing that has changed is social media and aggressive reporting expanding the scope in which people witness police brutality. This type of media such as cell phones and immediate news have depicted only negative traits being portrayed to the public, ultimately affecting their views on police officers.
In todays society I believe that the militarization of police is a problem. When watching the first video you can see how the problem starts. It begins with the police academy and police training. I was also taken by surprise to see how much police misconduct was costing tax payers. It’s sad to see that people who know about these statistics do little to nothing about it because they feel like they don’t need too since it won’t affect them and their family. I believe that maybe taking the payments out of local police budgets is a policy decision that could be used to perhaps effectively eliminate a lot of this behavior. Finally. if settlements were being paid out to someone who was affected by brutality of police were taken out of each department’s budget police tactics, training, and hiring would be completely different.
This topic at hand, about who is to blame is very controversial, the solider or the government. In my opinion, the government is the one to blame for war crimes simply because a solider is doing his job in order to survive and “protect and serve” for his or her country. With that being said, a solider generally has to follow orders to remain in the military and continue to serve. However, if a solider has orders that are unlawful and unjust, I believe law and order should come into play. Thus, we cannot blame soldiers themselves for war crime tortures, however we can point the blame towards the government or military. As an American citizens view point of war is being portrayed as so severe and horrible that war crimes unfortunately are inevitable. With saying that, even when low-ranking soldiers are prosecuted for war crimes shows how much the military cares for their own people. Due to all of this, war is viewed as a case of a “rotten basket” and war as a whole is so bad. Even history has demonstrated war is not an individual one person task, multiple people have to participate in order for a war to start or continue. In this regard, war is just a catalyst of a series of events that ultimately lead to war, as the end result.
The Police are becoming a military to be used in the war that’s supposedly going on in our back yards. This is problem because police officers are seen as people you should run from than run to.
Police officers should be more social with the people that they are supposed to protect. There would be little to no cases on police brutality.
There would be an extreme increase in police brutality cases.
Many police officers these days are definitely seen as agents of repression, considering all the videos and cases of police either killing or treating someone horribly simply cause no one can do anything about it.
People who grow up in a time of hate are going to learn to hate how they are taught to.
This period of time we live in it is very normal to see people injured or even killed in many altercations with the police. All we ever hear about is how someone was killed because a police officer assumed the worst and deiced to pull the trigger.
As seen in the article if we are going to train our police, the protectors of the people like we train our military then the trainees are going to be subconsciously ready for situations like ones in war. Such as ready to kill someone at the drop of a dime.
I believe that thanks to social media these situations are becoming more and more public. Sadly people aren’t doing anything about what is going on in the world.
I feel like police forces should interact with people more and respect them as people. If the police interact with others on the neighborhoods they are patrolling then the citizens will feel more respected and safe because walking around like soldiers will scare some people and make them feel like they cannot talk to the police about anything. If lawsuits were taken directly out of police budgets then that would definitely impact decreasing police violence because the police will not want to lose money. It might not have a big impact but it will have some because like everyone else, police want to earn money and not have it taken away from them. My encounters with police have been fine and they seemed to serve and protect. I believe that we can easily weed out the bad police if they are punished properly. Some of the crimes that police commit are on camera and they should be properly punished for it instead of getting off easy because they are a cop. If they are punished properly then I think violence will decrease. Police are always trained to use their guns and their training focuses heavily on how to use a gun in situations and if they were trained to not use guns every time they come in contact with others than the violence will decrease. People in today’s society always are afraid to come in contact with a police officer and it is because they feel like a gun is going to get drawn on them. If police officers talked to citizens more and made them feel safe in an officer’s presence then police brutality and violence might not occur as much.
I believe that the militarization of the police is a problem that has an easy fix. Police officers need to be less of a force and more of a service. They should be respected and loved by their community, not hated. Instead of focusing on putting criminals in jail, they should be looking into how they can keep people from becoming criminals in the first place. If lawsuits and settlements were taken out of police budgets, this would maybe have a small effect on police violence. It is hard to say because police officers who are violent, will continue to be violent. I think malpractice insurance among police officers would increase police brutality because it would be something police could fall back onto instead of facing consequences such as jail time or loss of job. With my own encounters with police officers, it seems like it either goes one way or another. The officer is either very respected in the community and everyone sees him a friend or the officer is someone who just goes into work everyday to collect his paycheck and see himself as superior to others. I think that a person who grows up in a community where gun ownership is glorified might think that police violence is something that happens and are mostly self-defense. I think that police brutality isn’t just a few bad apples but a lot of bad apples. If these officers are punished properly for their wrongdoings, the number of bad officers would quickly decline. Police training trains people to protect themselves but doesn’t seem to teach them how to defuse a situation before it gets out of hand. Training cops to use their gun as little as possible seems like a better idea than teaching them to be able to hit a target. I think that police violence is increasing currently. It seems that social media is definitely making it more visible but everyday more and more cases seem to be occurring.
I think that the police forces should patrol their neighborhoods they way that they do now. There is no reason for the police to act as a military force. I believe us as citizens should have a good relationship withe police simply because they protect us. Yes they can be over-aggressive be at the end of day they are trying to do their jobs. When I see police I do seem them as people who can be potentially hostile only when I am at certain places, but most often I do feel safe in certain situations when they are around as well. I don’t think violence is normal within the police culture because there are good cops out there that try solving things peacefully. I don’t think that even cop seeks violence.
The militarization of the police is a big problem that is prominent at this time. For example, the article had a quote that stood out to me. “The result, in his view, is that young officers become acculturated to an idea of policing that privileges “kicking ass” rather than working with the community to make neighborhoods safe.” If a police officer is just interested in “kicking ass” then that is all the police officer is going to do, they aren’t going to try to resolve a solution by talking to someone but instead, shooting them. This is a problem because if a police officer thinks that someone needs to get their ass kicked, they’re going to do it themselves instead of thinking through the situation at hand. Police officers should not patrol their neighborhoods like soldiers because if they did this, then every neighborhood would be a war zone. Making sure police officers have a clear mind when policing neighborhoods is a good idea because if a police officer contains bias or any type of negative connotation about someone, they are going to “kick ass” and deal with the situation which could end badly. The police training correlates to the behavior of police officers because they don’t know any better, they aren’t really trained well enough for them to act correctly while in a difficult situation. Making sure they are trained NOT to use their gun in every situation might be a good idea so that there aren’t as many casualties in society.
As police militarization becomes more of a prominent issue, I believe that more action needs to be made and the public needs to be more aware of what is actually going on in our streets. On social media, videos of innocent people being drug out of their car and beat by police officers is obviously raising some form of awareness but not the right kind. Police should be thoroughly trained to handle situations without the use of violence or weapons. Mistakes are made and innocent people are killed and injured because our cops are nowhere near educated enough to make split second decisions under pressure. A gun should not be needed to disarm someone with a knife. Police officers should receive more psychological training in order to really detonate the situation at hand. A big part of the issue, I believe, is judging a person before really understanding the situation. Regardless of it is based upon skin color, or clothing, or the street that they live on, judgement is being passed quickly and creating a messier situation. TO serve and protect should mean serve and protect all, not assume that something like a cellphone in a pocket is actually a gun. More training is needed to all officers in every aspect. Training should not stop or decrease for those who hold so much authority and power.
I believe that training and police brutality come hand in hand when dealing with everyday people. When police get into a hostile situation, the police have to deal with the situation in the present moment with the training that they were getting paid to be apart of. The training can include anything from on foot duties around of the neighborhood, to firearm training at targets at the shooting range.
In class we discussed the situation of police officers being physically trained for action on the streets, but are they mentally trained? Can police officers disarm a person with a knife without pulling out his or her weapon? I believe some of the encounters as police officers, they are not ready for. Shootouts, Robberies, a suicidal person or persons, do you pull a weapon on those wanting to commit suicide? Do you call for backup?
I believe that officers need more extensive training on what really matters. Yes, shooting and drawing your weapon is exceptionally important, but more so saving ones life by being able to disarm a person with experience talking to people like themselves? I believe more training across the board is needed, when one officer is not on a shift, train for other and more counterproductive situations. Make training mandatory for more weeks out of the month, look for weapons on persons, be able to distinguish a gun in someone’s pocket, not just a bag of chips. Too many kids and adults are dying because of rookie mistakes that officers are making.
Police militarization is becoming more and more “normal” around the world. I don’t think police officers should act like soldiers because they are suppose to reinforce the law but also to engage with the community they protect to see what are their problems. Today is very difficult to rely on a police officer to help because as the time goes by it looks like they’re soldiers by the way they act. It seems like they’re no longer police officers since they want to use the force all the time to solve problematic issues. I understand that their job can get tricky sometimes because of the people they’re dealing with but they have to act according to the situation they’re facing. They can’t treat everyone the same all the time.
I feel that police militarization is a huge problem. It gets scary at times watching these viral videos surface and seeing (whether they are innocent or not) people getting beaten senseless. It breaks my heart to see this kind of behavior from the “role models” or police men our children are suppose to look up to. I feel like many, many people don’t respond well to being dehumanized and yelling at so policemen’s actions aren’t helping any situation when they are barking orders/treating people like animals. Even my encounters with police haven’t been all too pleasant and these encounters were for stupid, harmless, nonsense. Many times I feel like citizens are accused based on their appearance, not even just skin color, but where you live, how you dress, or what mood you seem to be in that day. Overall, police need to train and learn new tactics of having to deal with a variety of situations and ease up on their temperaments. This doesn’t mean let people get away with things or look the other way. They still need to keep our world safe yet go about it in a whole different way!
When you reflect on your own encounters with police, do you think of them as civil servants who “serve and protect,” or do you see them as agents of repression and/or “revenue generators” that are potentially hostile?
I have only had one encounter with the police that I can truly reflect on. I was driving home from work, following my mom as she showed me a new way home, and my taillights were not on. In the next few minutes all I saw were flashing blue and red lights in my rearview mirror. I was instantly terrified, and I can only imagine what my mom was feeling. Because of all of the things that I had seen on tv and heard about in the community, it only made sense that I was very emotional. The experience itself went smoothly, but because I was a woman of color and he was a police officer I think that said enough. I used to see police officers as people who were on our side, but I am not sure how I feel now. When a person of color is targeted, I am targeted. I wish I was privileged enough to not know about the violence that goes on in this country, but because I do, something needs to change. Even though I have not been targeted completely, does not mean that I should not speak up about the attacks that are taking place. I am not sure what I can do at the moment, but I do know that I want to do whatever I can in order to stop the violence against all marginalized groups around the nation.
Also I think that it is beyond ignorant to say that the people of the community are the ones who are making the officers up their game when it comes to the weapons they bring around.
Ok lets get one thing straight. I work very closely with a lot of officers. I know what they do and how they train. Yes officers are moving up to military grade weapons. And why? Because the bad guys are using military grade weapons! People dont understand that its putting the officers life at risk if he has a handgun and the bad guy has an ak-47. The officers didnt just decided to move towards militar grade equipment because it was cool. They were forced to because of the criminals we have in our day and age. Officers need better equipment than the bad guys to stop tge bad guys. They are saving lifes not putting on some parade.
The militarization of police forces in the U.S. is not a new idea or concept. Perhaps if we had paid a little more attention to Hollywood we would have understood that they (through cinema) have given us the picture we are currently viewing years ago. Perhaps desensitization through cinematic entertainment has caused us to subconsciously allow this transition and transformation to take place in the past decades, which is why on an alarming level most citizens are not concerned but I clearly state that this is a major problem. In the 1970’s our police forces started to resemble that of SWAT teams, speed up to 2016 they not only resemble SWAT teams but now resemble and imitate our military forces. This imitation brought on through the indoctrinating of men and women in uniform via military tactics and methods enables our police force to interact with the public in an aggressive and forceful way. The interaction between the “urban military” and its citizens is incorrect for many obvious reasons but what is most alarming is that these interactions are at times unprovoked by the citizen. When these interactions via the use military style tactics are used on unarmed people of color, peaceful protestors, activist- we can ascertain the cause. The interaction between the police force and its citizens should be a cohesive one where citizens can trust that the police officers in their communities are truly there to serve and protect them and where police officers have the respect from the communities in which they serve.
Star Trek
Almost Human
It is a true notion that police offices are more alike as military personnel because instead of policing the communities,which is a form supervising, they tend to be more hands-on in a negative way. Their interaction with everyday citizens are not always pleasant. For the simple fact that the masses have a negative reaction and it comes to police presence speaks volume. The sole purpose of a police officers job protect the people in the community that they serve. More times than not,we find them making headlines killing another innocent or on armed person, which in retrospect seems to be more than enough force to control the situation.
Solider or police officer? This is a very valid question, especially living in New York city. All we have been seeing the new lately is the amount of police brutality that has been occurring for the past year, which has increased. Especially from the Black Lives Matter movement. The first video “Call the Cops” clearly shows that there is a sense of military influence in the police now. I think this video is a very powerful video. Because it exemplifies how the police are physically harming individuals. They are being more of a solider than an actual police officer who is there to protect, not harm. The Newport Beach Police Dept. video is also a very shocking video as well. This video is a recruitment video but rather than a police academy it felt like I was watching something for an army/military recruit. It seemed very scary in my perspective to see that the police officers are portrayed as these scary military men then community heroes.
The community model, was originally designed to care for the lives and safety in their community and about how their community see them. With community policing police officers were forced to gain the trust of the people in their community. With the transition to police militarization it is less about the trust and more on fear and respect. Growing up in a low-income and newly gentrified area I witness first hand the abuse and distress that came along with police militarization. Although I admit the crime decreased but a large proportion of people are locked up for tedious drug charges or displaced. Being a female there is a less likely hood of me personally getting stopped and frisked but passing a police officer when walking with a male family member or friend there’s complete fear. Police officers are suppose to keep the community safe but instead they are the ones who we are actually watching out for as minorities.
Teaching in the board of Education,I noticed that many of the school’s tactics of quieting or having the children behave, is to treat them as if they were in jail. They about two teachers in each classroom and three teachers in a special education class. There would be one teacher in the front of the line and one in the back to make sure none of the children will get out of place. This are not able to have their hands in the pockets nor turn around to check on others.
When they reach their destination, the teachers will tell the, how to sit and if they do not listen, they’ll get screamed at in their face as if they’re in boot camp. Sometimes, they’re threatened to behave or all of their fun activities will be taken and will have a one on one lunch with the teacher. Children barely get to speak to each other. So what are we teaching our children? To behave a certain way for society or to act up when they get a chance of freedom? Does this perpare them to obey orders even if they’re in the right? Or just avoid everyone and everything as much as possible? As much as I want to say the military or policing does not effect me, it does because I have family members who are in public education in which they are forced under these circumstances. They come to me about their issues and tell me “I can’t voice my opinion and say my side because I’ll get in trouble”, that effects me. Working around these circumstances, effect me emotionally.
While at a mostly civil protest in the DC I noticed that many of the protest division police officers were walking around with massive assault rifles. Even though a deal was made with them by the various activists groups I was with, it made me question what could happen if that deal was not in place. How easily could things escalate to a point where dozens are shot by a police officers rifle which sent shivers down my spine. With mounting anger at the high rates of voter suppression in key states for the democratic primary, what will the convention look like. Suppose there is some sort of protest for Bernie Sanders and the police that come are armed to the teeth. A much worse repeat of the 68 convention in a more militarized police state.
I feel that the militarization of police is getting out of hand. There are a lot of social injustice and violence that people have towards law enforcement that led people to be uncooperative and violent as well. We can see this in Ferguson and Eric Garner’s case. Officers are unprepared and inexperienced entering the workforce. However, there is that affect due to the training that police officers receive as the Newport Beach video showed- lieutenants were yelling in officer’s face, practice with beatings and fighting. There is violence within the training academy, prior to being a police officer, which is absurd. After watching the video, Call the Cops, it is very bothersome to witness more violence and cruelty from law enforcement. It makes me think twice if I should ask a police officer for help or ask a stranger.
In addition to the boot-like-camp training that police officers receive, I feel that there is a lack of diversity among the policeman, increasing the racial gap. There are more White police officers compared to Black, Hispanic and Asian. In my opinion, patrol officers are not as prevalent compared to police officers, which are everywhere. I have noticed more patrol officers in parks or public areas. Police officers should form a closer bond with the public because they interact with us everyday, compared to the soldiers.
I used to see police officers as civil servants, where their job is to “serve and protect”, but now they are inhumane revenue generators. I remembered I used to admire police officers because they would come into public schools to do workshops on fire safety and would form a really close bond with the children in schools. I wanted to be like them when I grow up, have a job and at the same time give back to my community. Nowadays, there are so many law enforcement’s stationed around the neighborhood, that it feels more intimidating that welcoming. Feels like my community is on lock down.
i think that police forces should interact with the public in a decidedly different way than soldiers, because theres a difference between them. Theres the war and then theres society. Police should act differently in society because there kids out here rather than the war theres no children watching whats happening.
I’ve never had any encounters with the police, but sometimes i think that they are civil servants who “serve and protect,” and agents of repression and/or “revenue generators” that are potentially hostile. The reason why i think that they are civil servants who “serve and protect” because they do try to protect places, and people but at the same time sometimes they jump to assumptions and they hurt people and communities.
Looking at the video, i feel like this isn’t anything new, because theres always violence between people and the cops when they are being arrested. When people fight back, i feel like they are making everyone worse for themselves. Media is important when you see aggressive reporting merely reflects activity that has always been there, but can now be seen easily and often because of new technology. You know that someone can be recording the arrest,, and then they will show it to their friends and then upload it, and show everyone, look at our officer and look how aggressive they are.
After watching the first video, it is very evident that there is a major issue with police militarization in today’s society; starting with their academy and police training. Furthermore, the issue does not only lie within this all-too-wrong mindset and culture. The video, along with the readings, highlights the cost that the misconduct creates amongst tax payers and how there is little to nothing that is being done about it. I believe that while technology and aggressive reporting most definitely reflects this activity more easily and possibly dramatically, there is no denying that it is an increasing issue with more and more violent incidents occurring throughout communities.
Also, through the articles we can validate that the police go overboard, whether it is the use of intense military aggression in regular day to day shifts or exposing guns and police procedures to children at a young age. They carry themselves as agents of repression and hostile members of society when in reality they should be members of society who are there to “serve and protect” and instill a sense of calm and protection amongst society.
Lastly, the comic truly reflects what the police have become. There is no reason that a local officer should be dressed as a soldier. Just because they get equipment from the military, does not mean it should be used for day to day interactions. It makes them feel more official and important, however that is not what their position entails. They are police officers, NOT soldiers in a battlefield.
One policy decision which can be undertaken to possibly be effective towards eliminating a lot of this poor behavior would be to take payments out of local police budgets rather than to tax-payer funds. Additionally, police can have liability insurance like we see in professions other than this, such as doctors and attorneys, so that in the worst of scenarios they would become uninsurable and therefore unemployed.
Our police should act as peace officers and be trusted in their communities, rather than pushing fear unto them. Of course there should be a high level of respect and an understanding of an officer’s status in the community, however the police should not misinterpret that as being members of a ‘hostile occupying army.’
If lawsuits and settlements were taken directly out of police budgets it would make a huge difference in police brutality. Police officers would try their best to handle a situation without violence. They wouldn’t be arresting people without probable cause. Sometimes police officers provoke a situation to give them right to act violent with the person. But if the money were coming out of their budget we would see less of this. Police officers want to make money not lose money and that is why they are so aggressive towards people because they need to arrest in order to make money.
I think there should be a difference between how police officers interact with the public compare to the military. Police officers become part of a community to protect the people living in it. They should create a sense of safety and somebody that young kids can look up to and want to be one day. Whenever there is military presence I feel like something big is happening. Like there is a terrorist attack or bomb threat. Military is used to fight a big enemy and is not there to socialize or to get to know anyone. Everyone to them is a threat. That is why there should be a different way on how each one approaches the public because the public have different views of them as well.
When I think about police officers I do think of them as people who are in our communities to serve and protect, however, I believe that education is the best way to learn how to deal with police and understand what they are expecting from you. I think people have to be more open minded when it comes to police officers because they are human beings just like us. I also believe people have to be more educated on what not to do when dealing with an officer and knowing their rights. Police officers also need a new perspective on the communities that they patrol, because I think some officers automatically perceive some people as threats which leads to these deaths and others as their “friends”.
I do believe that the militarization training that police officers receive is the reason to all the brutality occurring around the U.S. The police are here to protect the country, not to kill or harm if not necessary. However in the Police Academy , officers are trained with a military based training. Military training includes destroying a human being and building them back up. The military is a force where they are trained to serve and kill for our country, so if police officers is trained on a military based that is what they are going to perform. Police officers are being trained to kill instead of protect. I believe the training is one factor to why they react that way.
I definitely believe that if lawsuits and settlements were taken directly out of police budgets it will decrease police brutality extremely. Police officers would think twice before making any of these actions. Think about it, the families of these victims receive anywhere from 1- 10 million dollars when suing the police department for brutality. If the money was taken out of their police budgets they will be very low on money. Being low on money means budget cuts. A lot of officers will loose their jobs and also be reflected in the retirement/ insurance plan. I think this is something that should actually become a law to see if things change because as of now police officers don’t really care much because us tax payers are the ones paying for the settlements. If we make them pay for their mistakes, they will think twice next time.
The New Military Urbanism, in the first video its crazy the police are being extra abusive to people who are hand cuffed or not doing nothing to provoke them to get attacked. They not only abusing the men there doing it to females as well. In the lyrics it says “they have a license to kill “and I agree with it 100%. The officers are using deadly force running them over with their patrol cars. The way the Newport Beach police recruitment videos show it has more of a military style, with them having the structure of a drill Sargent and has the same type of uniforms. This method would be good for k-9 and swat team but police officers I don’t think so. They are only supposed to help and make the community better and be there for the people. I don’t understand why they prefer the military look more than the regular ones, don’t they know it’s a war against them? I don’t think they are sending kids a right impression to policing by giving them a riffle to hold like if there were in a video game. Sending them a wrong message like “become an officer and you can get a gun”. Every day there is something on the news about police brutality but yet no one can fix even with statistics and research they train will be the same.
When I saw the video, it doesn’t surprise me because I see this type of violence against people when the cops would want to arrest people. Some people try to fight back, but in my opinion it isn’t the correct thing to do. There are some cases in which the person isn’t resisting arrest but the office is violent to them in some cases. The media plays in important role because sometimes the violent arrest is caught on camera and gets to the media where everyone will be able to see the video. This type of violence is increasing and will be increasing because the officers are violent when it isn’t necessary.
Seeing this video I felt disgusted. So disgusted to were I started to question myself if I can really make a change or am I just wasting my time. I just don’t understand if the police academy is teaching these future police officers to become desensitize human killers towards civilians. The bad that cops have done and still doing totally out ways the “good” that they are suppose to do. What do we really need them for? They are creating violence just as much as the people committing crimes. I would be scared to call the cops after seeing this video.
I believe that we do have a problem with militarization of police. In the police academy the police officers are trained using the same methods as the military, which is wrong. Military deals with wars and terrorists, it doesn’t make sense to train police officers the same as them. Police officers are supposed to serve and protect citizens. Citizens shouldn’t be afraid to get help from the police but by seeing how they are trained and the way most of them are corrupt makes citizens not trust them.
Police officers interaction with the public should be more about peace and not a “hostile occupying army,” since police officers are to serve and protect, while on the other hand, the military is there to defend our nation’s border, use deadly force aid other countries and more.
There has been a problem with militarization of police for years, for one, the way they train police is incorrect because the police system is corrupt in total. why would they ever mix tactics of how they train military fighters that defend our nation and combine it with training our “protectors” the same skills used to kill our enemies. Both military and police go through two different types of wars that both require a total different approach but instead is being used for both, its almost like each individual is at war for themselves.
Police officers should interact with the public in a different way than soldiers. Police officers job should be to serve the public and protect us from criminals. Although most police officers have a military background and have the free will to kill anyone they are not at war with us. They’re here to serve and protect, not to have people scared to them if you look them in the eye.
The Military is designed to protect people from terrorist and other over sea threats. They are trained to kill on site as well as with multiple dangerous weapons. What baffles me the most is why they are using this form of trainning for our police force. There are to many police officer dressed and armed as if their apart of the swat team or even in the military. I can understand if an officer has experience with a military background but why would they recruit a person with that type of skill anyway? too many of those people come back with disorders such as PTSD and go out on the streets and apply their skills from the military and the police academy which can be unsettling for a lot of the civilians that cross their paths.
As a military person myself and also in law enforcement I can see the 2 sides of this. On one side is good to have a structure when dealing with enemy combative overseas and domestic criminals. But yet it’s not correct when dealing with our own people in our communities (I’m not saying war is correct). In fact the problem lies in the solution. I did say enemies overseas which unfortunately law enforcement are trained to do what soldiers do to enemies during war time. These tactics are intended for combat and should not be intended to use on our US soil and on our US people. There is a sense of, power trips and trigger happy…ism. Is it unjust? Yes, in most cases. But like all the BS cops can tell you ‘Hey I’m just doing my job.”
Why does aggression and violence appear to be normalized within police culture and not a simple matter of a few bad apples as many are prone to argue? Do you think specific aspects of police training might contribute to the problem?
Aggression and violence are becoming more popular amongst the police culture.But they view it as defending themselves against harm.Back in the day there were only a handful of officers dishonoring their badge, and they were dismissed from their job. Now days, police officer are openly abusing their authority, to the point where lives are being taking, due to access force by the police. And any action followed up by the families of the victims who endured the violent attacks are dismissed or overlooked. And majority of the officers interviewed after a death committed by access force normally state “I was doing my job”.So if they are trained to kill innocent protestors, than the training of police culture needs to be reconstructed.Although police are given tactical equipment from the army doesn’t mean they have to accept it. Because not only does it changes their mind to view everyone as an enemy, police began to develop the mind state that it’s them against the world.And much more people become victim to their vicious crimes.
Police Militarization is very problematic especially in the black communities. They devalued and have no respect for black people’s life. The whole police force needs to be evaluated and retrained on how to deal with the public. I also think individual police office should obtain malpractice insurance as doctors and health professional, although with the transparency and unprofessionalism I doubt if any insurance company would take up such challenge.
I also see police as civil servant who serve and protect our nation. There are many good police officer who uphold their job to the highest standard. There are few bad apples who are bringing the whole force down. I also think when social media get involve combined with aggressive reporting it exposed the very poor performing policing and cause commissioner and other high ranking member to fix the problem.
I believe that police should not be using the same tactics as the military. The police are most likely not dealing with war situations such as the military. The local police do not need to be using the same weapons as the military at all. People of the community should not be afraid to come in contact with the police. The police are supposed be the people that local citizens are comfortable going to when there is a problem and they are seeking help. In this day and time, citizens are scared to even approach a police officer due to all the situations that have been going on in America. A person will not know if they are going to get shot at or sprayed with mace when they come in contact with the police. I believe if the police became more involved with the community, not only with reported calls, would be a good first step. They should walk around more or even ride a bike to become more in touch with the community, so they can build some form of trust. Some police might not be bad, but with all the killings and hostile situations involving the police, it is going to take time for the people to trust them again.
Yes, I do think that the militarization of police is a problem in today’s society. As the first video showed, this problem starts with the police academy and police training. I think the culture and the created mindset of an officer creates an us verse them mentality upon graduation of the academy. The culture and mindset that the academy breeds is, to me, completely opposite of most aspiring officers. I think most people who want to become officers are personable, rational, understanding people; there’s no place for that in today’s police academy.
I was shocked to see how much police misconduct was costing tax payers. Sadly like you stated even those who know about such alarming stats, do little to nothing about it because it does not personally affect them or their family. Lastly, I do believe that if the settlements that are being paid out to victims of police brutally were taken out of each department’s budget police tactics, training, and hiring would be completely different.
I think that, as you say, taking the payments out of local police budgets (as opposed to tax-payer general funds) is one example of a policy decision that could be undertaken that would perhaps effectively eliminate alot of this behavior. Making police carry basic professional liability insurance could help too (just like doctors). Towns could elect to pay for the basic policy. Later, if a police officer triggers a payout due to their behavior, they could be forced to pick up the added incremental cost of premium increases in order to maintain their insurance. This way, in the worst of cases, they might become uninsurable….thus unemployable.
This article is good and makes very valid points and I feel that the police are going overboard specially with the training children at a young age to use guns and learn police procedures. Even with police having all this military equipment all over the US, I can even understand when it used in Ferguson because it got way out of hand but just using it and wearing heavy US military army for regular shifts aren’t necessary and not called for, it makes people especially minorities feel even more uncomfortable around them. The comic strip was so true and made valid points and showed exactly how a cop would react when put on the spot.
I think the police should interact with communities more often. They should do this because a lot of people think of police as bad people for what they do the their family members or friends. If the police interact more some people might look at them differently, not as someone trying to get us in trouble all the time but someone who is trying to help us stay out of trouble. Police should continue for talk at schools so kids can know that there is a better life then the life they are living now. It’s some much to do in this world but people choose to take the wrong path which can lead them in bad situations
This article was really interested and related a lot to the Balko reading. Since I haven’t had many interactions with the cops, it is hard for me to see them in any negative light. However, when situations like Balko brought up, it makes me realize that these cops that are supposed to protect us are actually doing the opposite a good portion of the time. I had no idea that the SWAT and police are being taught to be incredibly aggressive and enforce the law at all costs. I never really thought about the community policing perspective, but it seems like one that would help everyone. Especially, like in this article, when the cops would have to earn the trust of the community instead trying to instill fear in the public.
Recently, more people are becoming aware of police brutality, yet most are still unaware of the police mil iteration and their actions towards citizens. I believe that this is a problem, because more people should be aware about the problem so that it could be stopped. Police officers should acts differently then soldiers, however they should try to act as peace officers and try to talk issues out with citizens before actually going in and causing trouble which ends up being a mistake in the end. When I look at the one encounter with police, I believe that they acted foolish and there was some agression, because they forced me off a town property, even though we were neighboring towns and there was nowhere to go (it was a soccer field), they threatened most people and told them that they will be put behind the bars if they come ever again (threatened us). I do not think that owning a gun makes the area more dangerous to live in. In fact if people owned guns, more people would be afraid to use them against each other which would result in no need for the gun usage. This however should not be overused but for example Texas is a state that guns are allowed and most people do own a riffle (from my general knowledge there is almost no incidents of gun violence in Texas). Police does sadly attack/shoot citizens who might have a gun because they wanted to protect themselves. I believe that citizens are afraid to do anything against police/military violence, which is why they leave it alone. Those who argue will get threatened or worse. The number of such incidents however does increase each year as police brutality happens more often; however, as technology gets better and so does police equipment, the brutality among police increases as well.
From learning about the police when I was younger, to learning about the police in college is like night and day. I knew police brutality has always been going on, but after looking at the video I never realized how much actually went on. This is definitely more than a few bad apples, it is more like a bunch of different police forces. This is clearly a problem in America and all around the world, just some people want to view it as the police are just doing their job as a “protector” and to continue keeping that curtain in front of their eyes to not witness what actually goes on around us. Unfortunately, I used to think of them as “civil servants” but after seeing so much of this police brutality and them acting as if all of us are criminals, I see them as just an abusive group of testosterone driven men and women who act more like ferocious animals with a sliver of meat over their heads. The video, after watching it for two minutes (I couldn’t get through the entire thing without having a sense of disgust in them and in myself for believing in this romanticized view of police) made me just mad at everything I was taught as a child, like the thought of the police are your protectors in case anything bad has happened. They are not protectors if they are the ones we are afraid of.
The recent concerns expressed by people with regard to the militarization of police is not a problem. Expressing their concerns will hopefully help to put an end to this violent behavior. Police need to treat the public with more respect. After watching the video, I have a new outlook on militarization of police. A lot of those scenarios in the video could have been handled without the use of violence. But the police seem to think they can do whatever they want and not be punished for it. Police officers should act as peace officers but are instead bringing more violence into the world. I do not believe all police officers act this way. Relating to the Balko reading, this is a policy problem rather than an individual problem. Clearly something more needs to be done to put an end to this extreme police brutality.
The brutality in this video was difficult to watch for me, but I am so glad these events were captured on camera to reveal the reality of policing to those who dont see it where they live. Police officers such as these are snapping and severely abusing citizens – males, females, children, babies, and the elderly. I do not think it is ever justifiable for a police officer to beat citizens in such a way. They are so careless in some cases that even babies are severely hurt. The only time I think they should use force on people is when they are actually being threatened or someone else is being threatened, but even then, this kind of excessive abuse seems highly unnecessary. I have seen many videos of singled out events like these where the victims being beaten by officers are innocent or have committed small, nonviolent crimes or acts of protest. The fact that officers are allowed to get away with such violent, criminal acts with little to no repercussions because they claim their intent is to protect and serve tells me that there is a serious problem within the institution of policing. They are allowing for a greater emphasis to be placed on violating the rights of innocent people and finding criminals or offenders of small crimes rather than the safety of those being targeted and sometimes beaten to death. This to me does not represent a force that is looking to protect their citizens, but rather one that is out to get them. Why does the fact that they have a badge and a uniform separate these violent officers from actual criminals who have been charged for violence? If anything, I fear the police officer more because they have the power to commit crimes without receiving any consequences.
After reading the information and watching the video I feel that the police force is so much different now then it was back when I was a little kid. Now police officers are being way to rough and killing innocent people because they think they look suspicious and that is not right at all. After watching the video I found it very hard to watch because seeing poor people getting beat up, attacked, and seeing people’s homes getting invaded is just so crazy to me. I feel police officers are suppose to be there to protect people and families when they need it and also they are suppose to stop murders and violet people who come into the world. When watching that video you posted it makes police officers look like horrible people and I feel sorry for the poor innocent lives that were lost in this video. Also a lot of the pictures in the video especially the one of the little baby was hard to see because that is a poor little baby who got brutally hurt by the police and that is such a shame. Now I feel police officers are becoming worse and if this continues who knows what will happen to our world. This video does a great job explaining how bad militarized policing is and I think this video really made me aware of how horrible police are becoming. I redid the comment because it still said awaiting moderation so I did it again.
I always had respect for police officers and always looked at them as they are there to serve and protect us. I am very curious to find out why the police is treating the citizens like this. Why do have a collaboration between the military and the police in our society ? Does this mean the culture of Untried State is becoming more violent and we need military tanks in our streets. The video above frightens me because certainly I do not want be treated like I’m the enemy or labeled as a threat to them next time i get pulled over. Police is not the military and citizens are not the enemy of the state.
As we have been learning in class, militarization of the police force is a major problem in the United States. This part of your website exposes more as to why this militarization may be happening. The part in the video provided that shows exactly what goes on at police academy training makes me believe that this could be what is transforming the police force. In the clips shown officers are yelling in the faces of new cops in training and making them feel worthless. This seems to be exactly what they do to innocent civilians when they are suspected of any wrongdoing what so ever. I feel a good way to make this pattern of police brutality stop is to change the way we train cops in police academies.
Another main reason I feel that the police force is becoming more militarized is the uniforms they wear. The cartoon that was provided makes a great point when the children ask why the officer looks like Darth Vader. The kids also ask the officer, “If you have all this military equipment, aren’t you just going to look for an excuse to use it?”. That is a great point that I have never thought about, what is the point of having all this equipment if you never get to use it? The solution to this would be to limit the military equipment given to police forces so they aren’t abused the way we have seen in the past.
The video is extremely frightening and really gets the point across that police brutality is a major problem and that militarization is causing this mentality that the police are against everyone. There is no more “innocent until proven guilty”, the reason directly links to the militarization of the agency because now the police think they are above the law and have their own agenda. They are enabled to feel this way with the help of the government by getting the weapons, tactics, and technology passed down from the military. They often forget that outside of their uniform they are citizens just like everyone else and even outside of their district have no authority. It’s alarming to see their abuse of power in the video and it creates fear because it’s hard to imagine how we can prevent such police brutality from happening since the departments are already linked with many policy makers and people in higher positions.
The militarization of police is getting out of hand. Instead of “protecting” us we are all targets. They are using explosives to break down doors of private homes and pointing guns at innocent civilians. You are treated as if you were a terrorist. We can’t say all cops are bad, but there are way fewer good ones than bad ones. Depending on where the location is, I feel like the opinion of cops differ. In middle or upper class areas, raids are not as common as there are in working class areas. Therefore, one living in a working class can feel that cops in general are all bad. These types of incidents have always been going on but are increasing and fortunately for technology unjust behaviors are being revealed. The clip was very disturbing to watch but it is the truth. It shows how brutal cops can be and how stereotypical and racist our society is.
Watching this video was incredibly alarming and worrisome to say the least. It is awfully rare that I think about, see or even imagine that there are incidents like these that are actually happening out there in the real world, every day. I mean, I just have so many different thoughts towards this. It is, indeed, extremely arguable that we are only seeing a small video or clip and even just several images at one time without any description or “reasoning” of what went on in the situations or why the cops are even acting in such vicious manner; what, in fact, made the cop react, how many times the civilians disregarded the rules in order for there to be some awakening or violent act for things to “straighten up”. It’s easy to point out “the bad things” as an outsider looking in (and not even experience the feeling of disregard from “dangerous” persons). But I can also say that it is the reason that we are “outsiders”, or at least speaking for myself, being that I was never put in or around any particular situations as such, that we truly don’t get a feel of how horrific, bombarding and incredibly dangerous and threatening police approaches can actually be. It is very easy to assume that cops are “only doing their job” and how they wouldn’t act in harassing ways if it wasn’t “necessary”. However, after reading, in these last 2 weeks, I do feel cops are beginning to abuse their power and abuse their admiration as “safety providers”. They are becoming lazy in regards to their procedures and methods of “investigating” any given circumstances. Instead, they are taking their control and using it to make bitter decisions and careless accusations of innocent people (only provoking more violence and estrangement). I mean, raging from actual weapons to bare hands, police are stimulating fear in the people and surely generating anger and inequality in the eyes of the society.
Personally I have never witnessed anything that went on in this video; however I am appalled at some of the images shown in this video. Policemen dealing blows on already beaten down victims, women, and even children. I’ve always seen policemen as enforcers and protectors of the law rather than hostile aggressors abusing their power. The only time I’ve ever felt that they abused their power was with giving me too many speeding tickets; however I feel like some of these scenes accurately portray what is going on in some of the SWAT raids, and it concerns me. I cannot believe they would do this to unarmed civilians and even shoot dogs without hesitation (Balko’s PDF file). I feel like the police force should make an effort to interact with the community to establish more of a family unit rather than just acting as military soldiers.
I believe that those who are concerned about the militarization of Police have valid reason to feel this way.. I continue to stand by the fact that not all of these Police officers signed up for their job with intentions of abusing their power and using violence as a form of intimidation. However, there are too many officers who both think and act differently.
it is very difficult for me to imagine what it must be like to witness first hand the militarization of police, as I do not come from somewhere where such things take place. The thought, nonetheless, frightens me. The more I learn about police brutality the more I believe the issues are being filtered from the top down, beginning at both hiring and training and things must change drastically for the issues to even begin to be fixed.
After watching this video my feelings on police officers grew stronger. What I mean by that is that this video is only showing the negative side of police officers and that makes me angry because it is not fair that police officers are all portrayed in such a negative way. I understand that some police officers take it to an extreme level of violence but not all police officers are violent like the ones shown in the video. Do I think police officers that are violent like the ones in the video should deffinitely understand the difference between protect & serve and real violence? Yes. But not all police officers take it to this level. Like I have said before my dad is a retired deputy chief and has never once harmed a person like this even if they were a criminal. I think some officers do take it to a extreme extent but this makes all police officers seem horrible when in fact without police officers we would all be in a lot of danger.
I found the video to be both disturbing and enlightening. I have never had a violent experience with the police and although you hear about the occasional cases of police brutality it isn’t until you see them do it on video that it really strikes home. With military training they are taught how to both defend and attack but not when to do it. When they can act with impunity and they don’t get prosecuted because they are “cops” it gives them a sense of empowerment which can lead to an escalation of violence.
The video is disturbing. If nothing at all, it suggests the “few bad apples” argument is highly problematic. That’s a long tape loop of incident after incident of excessive, even criminal violence. The only way you get to the high numbers of violent episodes like those depicted is when the institution itself creates the culture where this can occur. These incidents are indicative of systemic/institutional violence; they are not isolated incidents of interpersonal violence. I might also add that I don’t think more/better “training” is the issue either. These are willfull acts. Individuals are engaging in this kind of behavior because there are no institutional sanctions. Consequently, the policy focus needs to be on the institution.
I don’t know if it’s just because if where I was raised but this article is not surprising to me. When things would happen in my old neighborhood the cops would be the last people we would ever call. I never can say police are here to serve and protect. In a group of fifty cops about 2 are police officers who are working for the right reasons but are hidden behind terrible ones. This is such a sad story and listening to the rap song makes it worse. Seeing what happen to all those people and a lot of the videos that are going viral breaks my heart. I feel like the United States are like Iraq we are living in a war zone but not by members of a society but by people who are suppose to “serve and protect” us. This is just frustrating!!!
I do believe that militarization of police is a problem. To have them trained like soldiers is something that we do not need. With all the crime that is occurring, we need police to protect us. We do not need more fear and crime on the streets. I believe that police forces should act differently than soldiers with the public. Police need to show that they are here to protect and secure us, not put us in hostile situations or speak to us with a threatening tone and questioning with out respect. Fortunately for me for the most part i have not had a bad encounter with the police. So with that being said for the most part i consider them to be civil servants to me and in my community. I believe that they are here to “protect and serve”. But that doesn’t mean that I am blinded by this. I am very well aware that in other areas with mixed races, it is not quite like this. I am aware that certain racial groups get picked more than others and certain ares are chosen more than others. So when this is brought into the picture I have to say that not all cops are good cops. They are not all here to protect and serve. The video that was posted was horrifying to me and to be honest I could not watch the whole video. It was truly disturbing because this really does occur and it makes you question ” Who do you call?”.
I think militarization of police is a problem. It is a problem because it is making police officers feel like they have more power and that they can do whatever they want to someone without thinking twice, or getting in trouble. I do not think everyday police officers should be taught any type of militarization. Yes, police officers should interact with the public differently than soldiers. Police officers are suppose to show that they are protecting us and doing what is right to keep us safe, not just shoot, or beat someone up because they know they can and without even knowing the situation first. I feel like the training police officers get and the weapons they are allowed to carry and use tend to create a big ego. They feel superior to everyone else and think just because they have a badge and a license to carry and use a weapon they can use it whenever they feel “threatened.” I think this type of aggressive activity that is unnecessary has always been happening. Social media has definitely helped bring it to light a lot more to the public. They don’t really report a lot of these incidents on the news as much as they should, so thanks to social media is where it all starts and then causes a hype to make it to the news. Police officers are suppose to keep us safe. We should trust that they know what they are doing, but honestly half of them don’t and just do what they want anyways.
After reading the information and watching the video I feel that the police force is so much different now then it was back when I was a little kid. Now police officers are being way to rough and killing innocent people because they think they look suspicious and that is not right at all. After watching the video I found it very hard to watch because seeing poor people getting beat up, attacked, and seeing people’s homes getting invaded is just so crazy to me. I feel police officers are suppose to be there to protect people and families when they need it and also they are suppose to stop murders and violet people who come into the world. When watching that video you posted it makes police officers look like horrible people and I feel sorry for the poor innocent lives that were lost in this video. Also a lot of the pictures in the video especially the one of the little baby was hard to see because that is a poor little baby who got brutally hurt by the police and that is such a shame. Now I feel police officers are becoming worse and if this continues who knows what will happen to our world. This video does a great job explaining how bad militarized policing is and I think this video really made me aware of how horrible police are becoming.
I believe that police should not be using the same tactics as the military. The police are most likely not dealing with war situations such as the military. The local police do not need to be using the same weapons as the military at all. People of the community should not be afraid to come in contact with the police. The police are supposed be the people that local citizens are comfortable going to when there is a problem and they are seeking help. In this day and time, citizens are scared to even approach a police officer due to all the situations that have been going on in America. A person will not know if they are going to get shot at or sprayed with mace when they come in contact with the police. I believe if the police became more involved with the community, not only with reported calls, would be a good first step. They should walk around more or even ride a bike to become more in touch with the community, so they can build some form of trust. All police might not be bad, but with all the killings and hostile situations involving the police, it is going to take time for the people to trust them again.
I do think that the recent concerns about the militarization of major police forces are a problem. I also still contend that there are a decent number of good police officers on police forces across the county.
I do not think the average encounter should be based on brutality and intimidation. One should not be presumed guilty and have to prove innocence. The average human being is trying to go about their day and live their lives. In an early reading by C. Wright Mills, it was discussed that in order to bring about change a single solitary human being needed to rise above their daily bubble in order to recognize the effects of their contribution. Yet in such cases as the daily interaction with police, attempting to entrench oneself in their daily goings on is exactly what those affected by police brutality are trying to accomplish.
I have not had the ‘pleasure’ to have an encounter with police as depicted in the posted video clip. My interactions with police have remained tame if not indifferent at best. I am horrified that there are those who have been unfortunate enough that their encounters are anything but cordial. I also have always had my suspicions about cops. I have never fully felt comforted by the knowledge that there were cops around.
I have never believed in gun ownership. If everyone owns a gun than that would leave a lot of dead people and more people would find excuses to use them. However, in a nation where it is a constitutional right to bear arms, regulations on gun ownership and control are a more realistic solution. Yet, the politicians like the lack of regulations because it means more for then, more money, more votes, etc. I am not surprised that there are micro- and macro-level repercussions because of our lack of gun control regulations.
I am not sure if as a society we are ‘zoning in on’ what is becoming normalized aggression within police culture because it is becoming normal or because social media is readily available. I think there are many of these incidents that are occurring, however, I am still maintaining that there are cops who want to do well at their job and are just as horrified at these numbers and incidents as we are!
I believe police militarization is an increasing problem and people have the right to be concerned. The police force should interact with the public in a less hostile way. From my encounters with the police I view them more as hostile revenue generators than civil servants. The technological advances and increase in the use of social media has brought the aggressive and violent nature of the police to the attention of the public. The policies that are used to govern and train the police need to be reformed in order to make progress against militarized police.
I think militarization of police is a problem because when they are in the academy they are trained like soldiers. Also, weapons and vehicles that police have are similar to those used in war. The way in which police forces interact with the public should be different than soldiers. Meaning, they should be peaceful and less hostile when questioning someone. Fortunately, I have never had a hostile interaction with a police officer. Therefore, due to my experience I see police as civil servants who “serve and protect”. However, others encounters may lead them to see them as agents of repression and/or potentially hostile. I say this because of videos that are shared on the internet and the news make us aware that there are cops who abuse their rights and are hostile towards others. In conclusion, I think the number of these incidents have always been there yet, due to technology it is being exposed more often. Everyone nowadays has a cell phone. If an encounter with a police officer goes wrong, someone can easily take out their phone and record what is happening.
i have taken a stance that there are some good and some bad cops….and i remain there. as much as i believe police are here (or should be) to protect and serve – seeing a video like the one posted among dozens of others available to view make it hard for a person like myself to maintain that belief. its truly disturbing – recently the level of police violence has escalated to an unfathomable level. 15-18 years ago when i was a young teenager – we only didnt like police when we knew we were doing wrong. but if we were all hanging out and being kids – we loved our PD….they stopped to play basketball with us – theyd spot light us in the cemetary and tell the seekers where we were via loud speaker…if all the kids in the group i was hanging with were wearing helmets while on our bikes – they bought all of us ice cream from the ice cream truck…and the only time we saw them out of character from the PD we knew – was when there was something happening and they were doing their job – being a police officer and arresting a party who was doing wrong….now? i get nervous driving in the car with my african american boyfriend and our 3 biracial kids in newark because our windows are tinted. i think the PD have instilled a sense of fear in some communities – but…i also mentioned in a reflection paper – that the same police who some may fear – will be the first to call upon them looking for justice if an incident occurs where THEY need help…its a double edge sword in so many ways….
Swat Teams duties are to confront life- threatening situations, such as, heavily armed situations, terrorist situations, high-risk situations like barricades. Not for low-risk situations like nickel and dime marijuana sales or nickel and dime marijuana users, which are not life- threatening situations and is almost 80% of the reason why Swat teams are deployed. People have refrained from calling the police because they may end up arrested just for making a civil complaint. You cant trust the police and it’s a shame. i believe 90% of the police are corrupt. I’m talking from my own experiences involving the police.
The relationship between the public and the police departments in NYC and throughout the nation has plummeted greatly the past 10-15 years. I believe that the cause for this negative disconnect between citizens and the police started with the 9/11 attacks. More surveillance inevitably leads to public space and resident privacy to be compromised. One can sense and see the hostile settings around the city. High profile Cases of police brutality and discrimination hasn’t help the PR of the departments. Growing up and currently living in lower class neighborhoods around NYC, I’ve seen how different the behavior of the police officers has changed. Less lenient and more aggressive. One can almost sense the military type demeanor of the officers. A lot of NYPD officers have joined since coming back from the Iraq war Andy any officers already have and expose their military background. Living in neighborhoods like Spanish Harlem, Elmhurst and Corona lets you see first hand how different policies implemented by the NYPD almost target residents of lower class neighborhoods. There are high levels of drugs, violence and other crimes in these areas of the city, but the police officers behavior is more violent and often times mistreat many citizens. Policies like stop and frisk have intensified these relationships. Personally, I have experienced a few stop and frisks around my community and when I go to other neighborhoods as well. I may only assume it’s because of my physical appearance and the way I sometimes wear my clothing. I don’t see these stop and frisk policies being something the police do in all communities. The intense police presence in a lot of lower class areas around the U.S is contributing to the notion of a new military urbanism. The military-like presence of police departments, SWAT, undercover work in lower class neighborhoods and in some cases middle and upper class areas only makes citizens more concerned about how treatment from those who are here to protect us may become even more of an issue.
I myself have never had a run in with police that has ended in stop and frisk or extreme force or interrogation. However, I’m also a white female who lives in a relatively middle to upper middle class neighborhood where you do not see much police presence anywhere other than the local strip of bars on a Friday or Saturday night. This does though show the exact point these authors are trying to make. Police are picking and choosing where they decide to patrol based on things like race and economic status. This is a terrible thing to do because although my neighborhood may not be considered a neighborhood that needs to be patrolled because it is relatively white and middle to upper middle class, my neighborhood probably needs higher police presence because there has been a recent influx of heroin use in my neighborhood. Where the police believe stop and frisk is a great policy because they get all these marijuana users off the streets and into prisons, I would think they would want to get heroin, a much harder and addictive drug off the street. But my neighborhood is overlooked because it isn’t filled with poverty or the stereotypical criminal. Stop and frisk could be a great policy if it were used the right way. It has become a way to search anyone, without a reason, and throw them in prison. A friend of mine was in the city once when a cop stopped him and his friend for open container. They admitted to it and told them they would get rid of it and cooperated with the police. The police then said they “looked suspicious” and began to frisk them. They found a sharpie marker in his pocket and arrested him for graffiti. They took him to the precinct and held him over night. Although this cop has the excuse of my friend looking suspicious, if a person is cooperating with the police how do they seem suspicious enough to frisk and then arrest ? It just shows the way the police have changed to be more aggressive. They did not have a reason to arrest him based on open container and instead made up a reason to search him and then arrest him.
There is often a disconnect between police officers and the area community they are assigned to police. Many argue the if police assigned to communities we’re actually from the communities or knowledgable about the community they would then be more affective at policing that location. Stop and frisk has become a highly controversial topic as the issue of racism plays a central role. The aggressive tactics of the police force is no longer aimed at careful observation of the individual and their behaviors but rather based on their facial features and stereotypes which have emerged within society. These same police officers who are hired to protect people end up being the ones to inflict the most harm. Arguments have been made as to the training of the police force. Some say it is only a small pocket of police officers of whom are incorrectly enforcing stop and frisk however statistics reveal a much different understanding. Most of the individuals being stopped are minority’s and most of the stops are made for innocent people. Videos circulating the web tell stories of police encounters with various minority groups and the interactions mentioned only confirm the the racist nature of stop and frisk.
“stop and frisk”, I am highly oppose this law and find it racist looking at it as a way of segregating and criminalizing poor and working class communities. We often hear or see stop and frisk being more highly enforced in poor neighborhoods. Neighborhoods that according to the police department have higher crime rates. But those crime rates are due to the constant brutality of it’s citizens. I think if the police conducted stop and frisk in every neighborhood with the same amount of man power that there results with be totally different.
One of my major issues with the New York city police department is lack of connection between the people and the department. The department hires many of the soldiers returning back from overseas where they were acting as cowboys with no regulations. When they are given authority again we see them treating citizens they were meant to protect as if they were enemy soldiers aiming to kill. I personally had a instances where I required police assistance but instead of help me I was many times interrogated as if I was the criminal. Often times there are situations that run more rampant than my occurrences with police.