The militarization of the police has taken place amid a striking upsurge of protests over police brutality and, in particular, the endless killing of young black men (Engelhardt). The government is equipping local police with weapons powerful enough to conquer a small country and the use of armed SWAT team’s use of these weapons rose by fifteen thousand percent in the last two decades (Kristian). Christian Science Monitor reports that the United States police officers shoot approximately one thousand citizens per year in the line of duty and unjustifiable shootings make up about forty percent (Lithwick). The U.N. Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials specifies standards on recruitment, training, and the use of force. The statute calls for proportionality in the amount of force used when required, and for governments to ensure that “arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials are punished as a criminal offence under their law” (Collins 9). Ultimately, no radical need for such powerful weapons has developed to justify the militaristic tendencies of the police
The militarization of the police has taken place amid a striking upsurge of protests over police brutality and, in particular, the endless killing of young black men (Engelhardt). The government is equipping local police with weapons powerful enough to conquer a small country and the use of armed SWAT team’s use of these weapons rose by fifteen thousand percent in the last two decades (Kristian). Christian Science Monitor reports that the United States police officers shoot approximately one thousand citizens per year in the line of duty and unjustifiable shootings make up about forty percent (Lithwick). The U.N. Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials specifies standards on recruitment, training, and the use of force. The statute calls for proportionality in the amount of force used when required, and for governments to ensure that “arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials are punished as a criminal offence under their law” (Collins 9). Ultimately, no radical need for such powerful weapons has developed to justify the militaristic tendencies of the police