Rise of the Warrior Cop
One of the most disturbing trends in American policing in recent years has been the militarization of police weaponry and tactics. In his new book, “The Rise of the Warrior Cop”, author Radley Balko traces the roots of American law enforcement from the constables of colonial times to present day SWAT teams and special response units. With the high controversy surrounding the “war on drugs” and the “war on terrorism,” policymakers have signed off on a dangerously aggressive style of policing that too often leads to unnecessary deaths and injuries. Some people say that modern law enforcement is on a collision course with our Bill of Rights and is unconstitutional. In the book “ Rise of the Warrior Cop” the author talks about how modern day policing are adapting mostly all military tactic. These wars are more than just metaphors designed to rally public support and secure all the money they can to support these programs. They change the way we think about what the police do. Wars mean shooting first and asking questions later. Wars require military tactics and weaponry. Wars mean civilian casualties. Are we at war with our own people?
In Rise of the Warrior Cop, Radley Balko views the steady militarization of the police in the U.S. A detailed history of a dangerous trend, Mr. Balko's book tracks police militarization over the past 50 years, a period that not coincidentally corresponds with the rise of SWAT teams but on purpose. Established in the early 1960s and where mostly used in the bigger cities and used against heavily armed and dangerous criminals. Today SWAT teams are almost common in every city in the country. 80% of towns between 25,000 and 50,000 also have their own SWAT teams. Its not li...
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...lue was going on. The way our police have adapted these aggressive and violent tactics of Mr. Balko showed us how both liberals and conservatives have allowed the militarization of our police forces to flourish In our country. The police and military are very different even in the way they conduct their raids, a lot much safer compared to police how is less accountable than the military and a lot less disciplined than the military. After read this book I would more likely not be able to work because I see the point and I can see its not heading in a good direction. These Para military tactics are something that really isn’t a big deal now but it will soon becoming a big deal. Not all police officers are bad like Mr. balko say’s. There are very good police officers in the United States but polices have elevated police over the people they are supposed to be serving.
Today police officers are trained to kill. Steven Rosenfeld, a journalist in civil liberties for Alternet said, “The militarization of local police has been growing...They face few consequences for making mistakes, such as maiming or killing people” (Rosenfeld). This shows that the local police officers are trained with military tactics and receive no penalty for their wrong actions. Not only is there an increase in police brutality, it seems as if they are targeting specific nationalities. Tony Brown, a writer for Raw Story agrees by saying “young black males in recent years were at far greater risk of being shot dead by police than their white counterparts”(Brown). Brown is blantly saying that the police seem to target one group to discriminate against. According to Brown it is 21 times greater chance for a black male to be killed over other
"Brooklyn Cop” written by Norman MacCaig, a Scottish poet, is about an American cop who roams the streets tackling crime. Our impression of the stereotypical cop changes throughout the poem as we find that he isn’t all that he is made out to be. This essay will look at how the cop is portrayed and the techniques used to give this impression of him.
I think this book should be required reading for any officer who wants to enforce illegal narcotics. It is an eye opening real account and both police supporters and critics have a lot to learn from Peter Moskos. The first step to healing our modern day police/public relation divide is ending this drug war and failed
...is novel with an outstanding salute to those who serve in law enforcement saying, “And so I tip my hat to all the good cops throughout our nation who risk their lives and strive to do the right thing when facing split-second decisions about life and death every day in the kill zone” (Klinger, 2004, page 274). Pulling the trigger of a gun can cause a variety of issues both within and outside of a police officer’s life, but it could also potentially save another human being from harm and keep the safety of our society intact.
If the police department’s job, according to their own rhetoric, is to serve the community by ensuring the safety of civilians, the Philadelphia Police Department’s rhetoric about civilian safety is expected and/or ‘normal’ police rhetoric as it pertains to their role in the Philadelphia community. Police officers are not supposed to kill domestic civilians, but it is acceptable for the United States military to kill foreign civilians, as was the case during the Vietnam War—a war that some of the Philadelphia police officers had participated in and learned from. Although MOVE members were domestic civilians, they were also the enemy. As enemies, the MOVE community was to be met with the deadly tools available to the Philadelphia Police Department. Warring abroad and domestic policing should be thought of as connected in that the patterns, tools, and strategies used abroad are reflected and imitated domestically and vice versa (Wall 1123). If the police saw the MOVE community as a group of enemy combatants, then their framing of the standoff and their use of violence seems normal considering what US troops do to foreign enemies abroad. For example, the use of fire and bombs on foreign civilians had been common in the Vietnam War. A decade after the Vietnam War ended, the Philadelphia Police
“The truth is that the police reflect America in all of its will and fear, and whatever we might make of this country’s criminal justice policy, it cannot be said that it was imposed by a repressive minority. . . . And so to challenge the police is to challenge the American people who send them into the ghettos armed with the same self-generated fears that compelled the people who think they are white to flee the cities and into the Dream. The problem with the police is not that they are fascist pigs but that our country is ruled by majoritarian pigs.”
Cop in the Hood by Peter Moskos is a book concerning a sociologist named Peter Moskos wanting to know more about the ways of American cops. A Harvard student going to work in Baltimore in the eastern district for one year, writes about his learnings and findings from firsthand experience. Some people say cops are not prepared when they leave police academy. From the book it says police officers learn more in the first two years than they will learn at the police academy. Becoming one of the deadliest profession cop’s duties are eye opening and even jaw dropping. Cops are known either has “gatekeepers” or even “pigs” in slang term. What if there were no cops in America? What would happen if they all just vanished and there was no one to protect
No longer is the average police officer the image of Andy Griffith, he is increasingly becoming something akin to a soldier. Senator Tom Coburn asked the perfect question during a congressional meeting when he said, "Tell me what the difference is between an increasingly militarized police force and a standing army” (qtd. in Devaney). The only way to put a stop to this disturbing trend is for citizens to demand that their representatives pass legislation that ends police militarization, as well as the creation of tougher punishments for excessive use of
The movie, Training Day, demonstrates how some police officers take advantage of their positions which is realistic. Mikkelsen states that, ?The new movie Training Day is an excellent fictional demonstration of how the State, in this case the police, provide a ?legalized channel for crime? (Mikkelsen 1).? It is hard to define the line between doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing to stop a crime. As Mikkelson explains, ?Many of the events are to be expected: violence against suspects, confiscation and use of drugs and especially money, violations of due process, graft (Mikkelsen 1).? At the end of the movie the main character is murdered and the police department makes up a story venerating his death in a positive manner. In all truth Harris was murdered by the Russians because he lost his temper and killed someone who was ?talking trash? about him. This is shown when Mikkelsen says, ?The state must defend cops, when possible, because publicity about ?bad cops? does not reflect well o...
By teaching police officers alternatives to shooting to kill, they experience higher risks with their lives. Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly, said, “It would be "very difficult" to train officers to shoot to wound” (Jacobo, 2016). Police officers are viewed as “predators” and “an occupying army” rather than allies (Valey, 2016). This is a perception that needs to change because it counteracts the mission of police officers
Police misconduct is as rampant as ever in America, and it has become a fixture of the news cycle. Police brutality is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. The media is inevitably drawn toward tales of conflict, hence why there are so many crime and police stories on the news. Despite the increasing frequency of misbehaving cops, many Americans still maintain a high respect for the man in uniform. Still, police misconduct is a systemic problem, not just an anecdotal one. Here are some reasons why it is a problem. First, many departments do not provide adequate training in nonviolent solutions. With this, police are unfamiliar with what to
As taught in the lectures, it is impossible for police officers to win the war against crime without bending the rules, however when the rules are bent so much that it starts to violate t...
Police shootings occur all over the world but are a huge problem within the United States. We continue to hear more and more about them. These shootings are making headlines. Front page news it seems almost weekly. All the shootings go one of two ways. Either a Police Officer has been shot or a Police Officer has shot a citizen, but either way the final result is death. Whether an Officer has been shot or an Officer has shot someone these cases seem to be related to one thing, fear. People in today’s society feel as though they can’t trust Police Officers as they are there to hurt and kill them. And Police Officers feel as though they are in danger of doing their everyday duties because people see them as the “bad guys” and want to hurt or kill them. Yes, police brutality and racism still exist, but not all cops are bad. Yes there are still bad citizens in this world that want to kill and harm others, but not all citizens are bad. People seem to react to these shootings by rioting quickly after a police officer has shot and killed someone without
Walker, S., & Katz, C. (2012). Police in America: An Introduction (8th Edition ed.). New York:
Police brutality is an act that often goes unnoticed by the vast majority of white Americans. This is the intentional use of “excessive force by an authority figure, which oftentimes ends with bruises, broken bones, bloodshed, and sometimes even death” (Harmon). While law-abiding citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been revealed that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve.