The Militarization of the Police. Are We Living in A Police State?

 by Amiya Fernando

 Are we living in a police state?

– There has been a 4000% increase in “no knock,” militarily-armed swat team raids over the past thirty years.

– Mid 80’s: 2,000-3,000 raids per year

– Present day: 80,000 raid estimate

The  Militarization of the Police
Image source: www.topcriminaljusticedegrees.org

The editors at Top Criminal Justice Degrees decided to research the topic of:

 The Militarization of the Police

Are we living in a police state?
– There has been a 4000% increase in “no knock,” militarily-armed swat team raids over the past thirty years.
– Mid 80’s: 2,000-3,000 raids per year[1]
– Present day: 80,000 raid estimate[1]
– ——————
– Pros:
– –Element of Surprise
– –Suspect can’t destroy evidence
– Cons:
– –Invasion of privacy
– –Seconds for suspect to decide if these or cops or break in.
– –Faulty intelligence

– ————

Case Study

– Basics:[4]
– Ogden, Utah. 1/4/12 8:40 pm.
– Local swat team battered down Matthew David Stewart’s door with no warning. Thinking his home was being invaded, Stewart readied his pistol.
– Stewart: 31 rounds fired
– Swat: 250 rounds fired
– Tip: Stewart’s girlfriend saying he might be growing weed.
– Previous record: Clean, veteran.
– Result: 6 wounded swat. 1 killed. Stewart shot twice.
– Findings: 16 small pot plants. No intent to sell.
– Outcome: Upon losing hearing about search warrent legality. Stewart hangs himself in jail cell.

– ————-

And that’s just one of potentially hundreds of similar tragedies.
– Spotlight: NY
– 1994: 1,447 swat style drug raids
– 2002: 5,117
– “I have my own army in the NYPD–the seventh largest army in the world.” Michael Bloomberg

– ————
– Swat Armament:[3]
– Submachine Guns
– Automatic Weapons
– Breaching Shotguns
– Sniper Rifles
– Stun Grenades
– Heavy Body Armor
– Motion Detectors
– Advanced Night Vision Wear
– Armored Personal Carriers
– “From the Gulf war to the drug war–Battle proven” Heckler and Koch’s slogan for the M5[6]

– ————-

These “criminals” are heavily armed too, right?
– WRONG:
– [Weapon used in violent crime: %]
– Gun: 12.7%
– Knife: 10.1%
– Other: 12.1%
– Unknown weapon: 1.8%
– None: 55.8%
– Don’t Know: 5.8%

– —-
So how can we allow this? The fact is, we don’t.
– 1970: The “no-knock” law is passed with the beginning of the war on drugs.
– 1974: The law was repealed.
– Today: “No knock” happens ALL THE TIME.
– ——
– Leading to more and more unnecessary, intrusive, illegal, and deadly SWAT raids.

– Raids leading to civilian injuries, death, or intrusion of the privacy of innocents.

– While injuries from “no knock” raids have been around since the inception of the swat team. Paramilitary like brutality has become a feature of the increasing armed SWAT of the last 10 years.

– Using the military in civic life is like using a hammer when you need a butter knife. There’s bound to be collateral damage. It could happen to you, your neighbors, your friends, or your family.

Speak out against the militarization of the police.

Citations

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-14-noknock14_ST_N.htm

https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-free-speech-technology-and-liberty/too-many-cops-are-told-theyre-soldiers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWAT

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323848804578608040780519904.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

http://www.cato.org/raidmap

social


Articles by: Global Research News

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]