When police officers dress, train or are armed like a military soldier, he says some officers will start to see themselves as such. “So you see them going to places like Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and little cities in Idaho, Ohio and in towns in the suburbs.”ĭepartments that received military gear were supposed to use it to prevent terror attacks, but instead, Balko says officers often ended up using the equipment for everyday policing duties.

“There hasn't been a lot of scrutiny about whether the places that are receiving this equipment are actual terror threats,” he says. These grants provide even more than the Pentagon surplus program did, thus fueling the birth of companies that make military-style equipment in order to cash in on the DHS checks, he explains. could tap into to purchase new military-grade equipment such as armored trucks, ballistics gear and armored personnel carriers. Post 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security enabled anti-terror grants that police departments across the U.S. 11, 2001 ramped up and expanded police militarization, he says. However, the tragedy that unfolded on Sept. The initiative, known as the 1033 program, was formally implemented when Congress passed a law in the 1990s. Militarization of the police goes back to the Reagan-era war on drugs when one program informally began giving surplus military equipment from the Pentagon to police departments across the U.S. 6th Capitol attack.īalko says it’s not unusual for a suburban law enforcement agency to have M-16s. He's the author of 'Rise of the Warrior Cop,” which was recently updated to analyze policing through the Jan. Washington Post opinion columnist Radley Balko has been examining policing over the last 20 years. In disbelief, the mayor of the small city said, 'I don’t see any reason why a part-time park district officer would need that type of arsenal.”

Chicago Heights, Illinois, recently abolished its park police force and discovered the department had access to M-16 rifles. Policing is one of them.įor one, police have more military equipment now. Many aspects of American life have changed in the 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) This article is more than 1 year old. 11, 2011, in New York City during the 10th anniversary since 9/11. A New York City Police officer stands guard near the World Trade Center site on the morning of Sept.

Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko