by Amiya Fernando
Are we living in a police state?
– There has been a 4000% increase in “no knock,” militarily-armed swat team raids over the past thirty years.
– Mid 80’s: 2,000-3,000 raids per year
– Present day: 80,000 raid estimate
Image source: www.topcriminaljusticedegrees.org
The editors at Top Criminal Justice Degrees decided to research the topic of:
The Militarization of the Police
Are we living in a police state?
– There has been a 4000% increase in “no knock,” militarily-armed swat team raids over the past thirty years.
– Mid 80’s: 2,000-3,000 raids per year[1]
– Present day: 80,000 raid estimate[1]
– ——————
– Pros:
– –Element of Surprise
– –Suspect can’t destroy evidence
– Cons:
– –Invasion of privacy
– –Seconds for suspect to decide if these or cops or break in.
– –Faulty intelligence
– ————
Case Study
– Basics:[4]
– Ogden, Utah. 1/4/12 8:40 pm.
– Local swat team battered down Matthew David Stewart’s door with no warning. Thinking his home was being invaded, Stewart readied his pistol.
– Stewart: 31 rounds fired
– Swat: 250 rounds fired
– Tip: Stewart’s girlfriend saying he might be growing weed.
– Previous record: Clean, veteran.
– Result: 6 wounded swat. 1 killed. Stewart shot twice.
– Findings: 16 small pot plants. No intent to sell.
– Outcome: Upon losing hearing about search warrent legality. Stewart hangs himself in jail cell.
– ————-
And that’s just one of potentially hundreds of similar tragedies.
– Spotlight: NY
– 1994: 1,447 swat style drug raids
– 2002: 5,117
– “I have my own army in the NYPD–the seventh largest army in the world.” Michael Bloomberg
– ————
– Swat Armament:[3]
– Submachine Guns
– Automatic Weapons
– Breaching Shotguns
– Sniper Rifles
– Stun Grenades
– Heavy Body Armor
– Motion Detectors
– Advanced Night Vision Wear
– Armored Personal Carriers
– “From the Gulf war to the drug war–Battle proven” Heckler and Koch’s slogan for the M5[6]
– ————-
These “criminals” are heavily armed too, right?
– WRONG:
– [Weapon used in violent crime: %]
– Gun: 12.7%
– Knife: 10.1%
– Other: 12.1%
– Unknown weapon: 1.8%
– None: 55.8%
– Don’t Know: 5.8%
– —-
– So how can we allow this? The fact is, we don’t.
– 1970: The “no-knock” law is passed with the beginning of the war on drugs.
– 1974: The law was repealed.
– Today: “No knock” happens ALL THE TIME.
– ——
– Leading to more and more unnecessary, intrusive, illegal, and deadly SWAT raids.
– Raids leading to civilian injuries, death, or intrusion of the privacy of innocents.
– While injuries from “no knock” raids have been around since the inception of the swat team. Paramilitary like brutality has become a feature of the increasing armed SWAT of the last 10 years.
– Using the military in civic life is like using a hammer when you need a butter knife. There’s bound to be collateral damage. It could happen to you, your neighbors, your friends, or your family.
Speak out against the militarization of the police.
Citations
–http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-14-noknock14_ST_N.htm
–http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWAT
