Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Are Police in America Now a Military, Occupying Force?

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Are Police in America Now a Military, Occupying Force?

Click here to access article by John W. Whitehead from The Rutherford Institute.

Despite the steady hue and cry by government agencies about the need for more police, more sophisticated weaponry, and the difficulties of preserving the peace and maintaining security in our modern age, the reality is far different. Indeed, violent crime in America has been on a steady decline, and if current trends continue, Americans will finish the year 2013 experiencing the lowest murder rate in over a century.

The author provides a good overview of the militarizing of local police forces by providing details on the history of furnishing military equipment to local police forces, and the incentives of local police forces to use SWAT teams and SWAT-style tactics in ordinary policing operations which has led to many abusive police actions.