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Rise of the Warrior Cop

The Militarization of America’s Police Forces. Rise of the Warrior Cop. Introduction. Roger Roots, legal scholar and civil liberties activist:

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Rise of the Warrior Cop

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  1. The Militarization of America’s Police Forces Rise of the Warrior Cop

  2. Introduction Roger Roots, legal scholar and civil liberties activist: The general public had broad law enforcement powers, and only the executive functions of the law (e.g. the execution of writ, warrants, and orders) were performed by constables or sheriff (who might call upon the community for assistance). Initiation and investigation of criminal cases was nearly the exclusive province of private persons…. The advent of modern policing has greatly altered the balance of power between the citizen and the state in a way that would have been seen as constitutionally invalid by the Founders.

  3. From Rome to Writs Praetorian Guards as a standing police force grew powerful enough to interfere with the appointments of emperors. The police in France were established to defend the monarch against the people not to protect the people. The objective of common law is dedicated to dispute revolution rather than enforcing the will of the sovereign and offers more protections of individual rights. James Otis, Pre-revolutionary Boston Attorney opposed to general warrants: A man’s house is his castle; and whilst he is quiet, he is as well guarded as a prince in his castle.

  4. Soldiers in the Streets Posse Comitatus Act, 1877: From and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the Army of the United States, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress.

  5. A Quick History of Cops in America • Northeast – Night watch Patrols • The Southern colonies – Slave Patrols • Western Frontiers – Vigilantes and private police • Modern Police Force created in London in 1829 • Modern Police Force in the United States 1845 • The professionalism movement created the modern police organization: a centralized, authoritarian, bureaucracy focusing on crime control. • Military used against protesting veterans in 1932 • Military used to integrate schools in Arkansas

  6. The 1960s – From Root Causes to Brute Force • Percentage of Americans who thought the Supreme Court was too soft on criminals in 1965: 48 %; in 1968: 63 %; in 1969: 75 % • Percentage of Americans in 1968 who disapproved of interracial marriage: 75 % • Percentage of Americans who supported the Chicago police after the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots: 56 %: Nixon supporters – 63%; Wallace supporters – 71%; Humphrey supporters – 44 %. • Percentage of Americans who supported the death penalty in 1966: 42% • Percentage who supported the death penalty in 1969: 51% • Percentage of parents who in 1969 said they would turn in their own kid for using drugs: 42%

  7. The 1970s – Pinch and Retreat • Value of property stolen by Heroin addicts in 1972 – Richard Nixon 2 billion dollars; George McGovern 4.4 billion dollars; Illinois Senator Charles Percy 15 billion dollars • Actual value of all reported stolen property in the United States in 1972 was 1.2 billion dollars. • Number of SWAT teams in the United States in 1970 = 1 • Number of SWAT teams in the United States in 1975 = 500 • Total number of Narcotics Agents in 1969 = 400 • Total number of Narcotics Agents in 1979 = 1941 • Peak year of illicit drug use in America 1979 • No knock search warrants carried by Federal government from 1967 to 1971 = 4 • No knock search warrants carried out by the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement in first seven months of 1972 = more than 100

  8. The 1980s – Us and Them • Number of drug raids conducted in 1987 by the San Diego Police Department: 457 • Number of drug raids conducted by the Seattle Police Department in 1987: 500 • Value of assets in the Justice Department’s forfeiture fund in 1985: $27 million dollars • Value of the assets in the Justice Department’s forfeiture fund by 1991: $644 million dollars • Percentage of US cities with populations over 50,000 that had a SWAT team in 1982: 59%; 1989: 78%; in 1995: 89% • Percentage of those SWAT teams that trained with active duty military personnel: 46% • Average number of times each SWAT teams was deployed in 1983: 13; 1986: 27; 1995: 55 • Percentage of those deployments in1995 that were only to serve drug warrants: 75.9%

  9. The 1990s – It’s All about the Numbers • Approximate number of paramilitary police raids in the United States in 1980: 3000 • Approximate number of paramilitary police raids in 1995: 30,000 • Approximate number of paramilitary raids in 2001: 45,000

  10. The 2000s – A Whole New War • Approximate number of SWAT raids in 2005: 50-60,000 • Federal Law Enforcement officers 1996: 74,500 (28 per 100,000) • Federal Law Enforcement officers 2008: 120,000 (40 per 100,000)

  11. Reform • End the Drug War • Halt mission creep for SWAT teams • Transparency – Report on activities of SWAT teams • Community Policing • Change Police Culture • Accountability

  12. Conclusion Are today’s police forces consistent with the principles of a free society? It is difficult to say that they are. Police today are armed, dressed, trained, and conditioned like soldiers. They’re given greater protections from civil and criminal liability than normal citizens. They’re permitted to violently break into homes, often at night night to enforce laws against nonviolent, consensual acts – and even then, often on rather flimsy evidence of wrongdoing. Negligence and errors in judgment that result in needless terror, injury and death are rarely held accountable. Citizens who make similar errors under the same circumstances almost always face criminal charges, usually felonies. - RadleyBalko

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