Why Police Need Military Equipment

Barack Obama restricted the.

Why police need military equipment. This includes the use of armored personnel carriers APCs assault rifles submachine guns flashbang grenades grenade launchers sniper rifles and Special Weapons and Tactics teams. They can weigh nearly 20 tons and many US. One program that facilitates police militarization is the Pentagons 1033 program where local law enforcement agencies can acquire military surplus equipment at little cost. The 1033 program allows the Department of Defense to transfer excess military.

Misuse of military equipment whether during. Congress first created the military surplus program in 1990 authorizing the Department of Defense to send excess equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies for counter-narcotics. Police receive most of their militarized equipment through two federal programs. Today the military equipment and tactics are used by police to carry out routine search warrants and to police protests protected by the First Amendment.

Troops who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are. The 1033 and the 1122 initiatives. We do not have access to data on the scope of police militarization or how the items or funds acquired by law enforcement agencies are being employed. As the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have wound down police departments have been obtaining military equipment vehicles and uniforms that have flowed directly from the Department of Defense.

In America big problems require big guns and so one response to these fears was the so-called 1033 program where the Department of Defense distributed surplus military equipment to local. When police deployed military-style equipment during the protests after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri in 2014 critics said the gear added to friction between law enforcement and. Military acquisitions over time. Why do many police officers believe they need military-grade equipment.

The result is an increased likelihood of. And what safeguards are in place to ensure that weapons and vehicles designed for combat zones are used responsibly in towns. Despite criticism that the police reaction only incited protesters in Ferguson and elsewhere military equipment is primarily used to keep officers safe according to Rich Roberts spokesman for. Police need military equipment to combat rising crime rates and police deaths Law enforcement needs all the surplus military equipment it can get its hands on and Trump is making that a reality.

I just was this in the news. Mine-resistant ambush-protected troop carriers known as MRAPs were built to withstand bomb blasts. The striking images on social media of military equipment being used by police for crowd control drew national. And police agencies were required to justify their need for the equipment.

Above police ride an armored vehicle on May 31 in Bellevue Washington. The militarization of police is the use of military equipment and tactics by law enforcement officers. The militarization of law enforcement is also associated with intelligence agency-style information. If criticism of the 1033 program rises again LE agencies need to be ready to educate their communities about why cops need military surplus equipment A recent report in Newsweek showed that law enforcement agencies have acquired six billion dollars of military surplus equipment over the past 18 years.

Amid protests some want to end the program that sends military gear to local law enforcement agencies. Why does the Police Department have or need this.