Demilitarization of Police during War Period - Essay Example

Reaction Paper – Demilitarization of Police In simple terms, militarization means to mobilize and prepare for war. So, police militarization may be taken to refer to the tendency of shifting the civilian police towards the model of militarism. Although it began in the 1990s, the act of the militarization of the police has remained a very contentious issue in the country. While the proponents its proponents constantly argue in its favor, its critics argue that the police should be demilitarized because they appear more of army personnel than police officers who should be vested with the role of maintaining law and order. Having followed keenly the events that occurred in Ferguson after the brutal shooting of the innocent Michael Brown, it dawned on me that the concept of the militarization of the police should be rethought. Therefore, I fully concur with Senator Paul Rand for advocating for the demilitarization in his article dubbed ‘We Must Demilitarize the Police.’ I would like to begin by strongly condemning the tendency of heavily arming police officers across the country. It is a high time the American nation become a peaceful and orderly place to live in. As Senator Rand exclaims, it id not justified to arm the police officers with crude weapons like M14, Kevlar Vests, shotguns, Helmets, M16a, pistols, armored trucks, camouflage, rifle assemblies, automatic rifles, rifle conversion kits, magazine cartridges, mine resistant vehicles, tear gas and military shirts (Kraska, 2000). To anyone who knows the peace process, these are not weapons to be used for the protection of the citizens. By availing them to the police force, it means that the government is having ill intensions that it is hiding. Therefore, I support the senator for fiercely condemning such acts and advocating for the demilitarization process. The action of the police officers in Ferguson demonstrated how harmful and destructive the militarized police force can be. Even if people were demonstrating to protest the death of Brown, it was not fair for them to be mishandled by the militarized police officers who were obviously not interested in protecting, but terrorizing them. By carrying such crude weapons and cordoning off the remote areas of Ferguson, it is arguable that the police were not considering these people should be offered any protection. Instead, it seems that they had declared them as people to be occupied. Thus, their plea for surrender and retreat could not yield much fruits. So, as the senator puts it, the attack on harmless citizens who were merely expressing their furry over the death of one of their own was a sign of bad police force. Even if the country should be concerned about inland security, the attack on innocent demonstrators can not help in fighting terrorism or bringing peace in the country. As the senator argues, the attack on demonstrators by the police proves that the US law is skewed. Why did the incident have to occur in Ferguson, a black-dominated city? It must be a proof that the US law enforcers have been racial in their decisions. Surprisingly, it followed the killing of a black boy by white police personnel. This indeed justifies the claim by American Civil Liberties Union that SWAT deployments have been mainly targeting the blacks. Since its inception, 50% of its victims and targets have been the Latinos and blacks. As a civilized country, racism should no longer be our problem (Wood, 2011). Deliberate steps should be made to fight all forms of discrimination and harmonize the entire nation to always remain united. After all, if an institution such as police force is used to propagate racism, our country will still remain a dangerous place to live in. Militarization of the police should be a thing of the past because, long are the days when police officers wore military shirts and armed themselves with dangerous weapons including Kevlar vests, pistols, camouflage, automatic riffles, short guns aboard mine-resistant vehicle. In my opinion, such weapons would be used at a time when the country was battling terrorist attacks and executing warrant orders with possibilities of overreactions that if not well guarded, would result into disasters like death. However, this was not the case in Ferguson in which armless demonstrators were mercilessly attacked while in the streets or in their own premises. It was possible for the police officers to convert Ferguson into a battlefield simply because they had crude weapons in their possession. It was not justified to do so because Missouri was not a war zone. Having said all these, I would like to categorically state that it is not a good idea to continue militarizing the police. I therefore join Senator Rand for arguing in favor of the demilitarization of police. It is my suggestion that the American police should not be armed with military weapons whenever they are discharging their duties. There is nothing wrong if the police remain as civilian as they used to be before (Kraska, 2000). After all, USA is no longer fighting serious crimes like drug trafficking that had been used as a reason for arming the police officers across the country. Besides, the rate of criminal activities has seriously declined especially after the 1990s when the police were really militarized to wedge a tern war on them. There should be a clear distinction between the military and police force. Unlike their police counterparts, military men are trained to destroy. So, police should no longer use military artillery to disperse demonstrators. Whenever a criminal cases like North Hollywood bank robbery, civil disorder and indiscriminate mass shootings in public places occur, the police should not necessarily use military weapons. Instead, highway patrol personnel should cordon off the area in a more organized and peaceful manner not to inflict suffering to anyone around. This will make the police to be real law enforcers who are concerned about weeding out criminals and maintaining peace in the society (Gregory, 2014). To conclude, I would like to agree with Senator Rand for advocating the demilitarization of the police. Actually, it is not justified to arm the police to appear like military personnel prepared for war. Serious crimes like drug trafficking are no longer a menace to the US government. So, as President Obama suggested, the skewed 1033 Program should be reviewed to ensure that police officers do not engage in unnecessary battles that should be left for the military. After all, the law as it is now violates individual liberties that are guaranteed by the constitution. References Gregory, A. (2014) "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces." The Independent Review 19.2 (2014): 271-75. Wood, J. (2011) Crisis and Control: The Militarization of Protest Policing. Pluto Press. Kraska, P. (2000) "Militarizing Criminal Justice: Exploring the Possibilities."The Journal of Political and Military Sociology 27.2 (1999): 205-15. Read More