Militarization of police

link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LAPD_Lakers_Parade.jpg|right|thumb|(LAPD) SWAT officers at Lakers parade in 2009
Militarization of police means when police officers use military equipment and tactics. This includes things like armored vehicles, assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenades,Texas Rangers, Department of Public Safety, Branch Davidian Evidence , Investigative Report No. 1, September 1999; Investigative Report No. 2, January 2000 (PDFs available at Texas Rangers website). The Rangers found that the FBI used grenade launchers to fire two 40 mm M651 grenades. The Army considers the M651 a pyrotechnic device and that it is known to cause fires. The Army Tech Manual for the M651 warns that it can penetrate 3/4" plywood at 200 meters and "projectile may explode upon target impact". During inventory of the Waco evidence the Texas Rangers also found flashbang grenades. and SWAT teams. It is also connected to when police gather information on the public and political activists in the same way as intelligence agencies and when police use more aggressive methods. A criminal justice professor named Peter Kraska defines the militarization of police as when the police start to act more like the military and follow their ways of doing things.

People have noticed that the way police handle protests is becoming more like the military. Since the 1970s, police who control riots have been shooting at protesters with rubber or plastic bullets.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plastic+bullet  "A solid PVC cylinder, 10 cm long and 38 mm in diameter, fired by police or military forces to regain control in riots." They also use tear gas, which was first made by the US army in 1919 to control riots. Using tear gas in wars is not allowed by international agreementse.g. the Geneva Protocol of 1925: 'Prohibited the use of "asphyxiating gas, or any other kind of gas, liquids, substances or similar materials"' that most countries have signed, but using it in a domestic (inside of a country) situation or non-combat situation is allowed by police or the military.

Concerns have been raised about the militarization of police. Both liberal and conservative groups, such as the Cato Institute and American Civil Liberties Union, have criticized this practice. The Fraternal Order of Police argue that it increases officer safety and protect the public, but studies have shown that militarized police units are more likely to have violent encounters with the public, they are more frequently deployed to communities with large African American population, no matter the local crime rate.

Many countries have a gendarmerie, which is a military force with police duties among civilians.

 Related pages 

 Police brutality
 Militarization

 References 

Category:Police
Category:Controversies