Post by demos on Jul 13, 2020 18:03:48 GMT
How police militarization became an over $5 billion business coveted by the defense industry
The fatal arrest of George Floyd has sparked nationwide protests demanding an end to police brutality and restructuring of police departments. Many of those protests were met with drastic measures and responses from local police departments armed with military gear. Equipment more commonly used on battlefields, like flash-bang grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets, helicopters and armored vehicles were witnessed numerous times at the scenes of protests...
Many of this militarized equipment is transferred through two federal programs: the 1033 and the 1122 initiatives. The 1122 program allows the police to purchase new military equipment using their own funding with the same discounts enjoyed by the federal government. The 1033 program allows the Department of Defense to transfer excess military equipment to local law enforcement agencies free of charge, as long as they pay for shipping and maintenance...
What makes both 1033 and 1122 programs so powerful is the apparent lack of clear oversight and accountability. The 1122 program, for instance, is not a grant or transfer program and thus is not required to be monitored by the federal government. Meanwhile, the 1033 program has put lethal weapons in the hands of officers who have no justifiable need for such equipment...
In some cases, equipment transferred through these programs has simply vanished due to what appears to be a lack of oversight and poor bookkeeping... [WTF?]
The National Police Foundation countered that its independent study revealed that a vast majority of equipment transferred through the 1033 program consists of nonlethal items such as “clothing, personal protective equipment” and “basic infrastructure needs...”
The fatal arrest of George Floyd has sparked nationwide protests demanding an end to police brutality and restructuring of police departments. Many of those protests were met with drastic measures and responses from local police departments armed with military gear. Equipment more commonly used on battlefields, like flash-bang grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets, helicopters and armored vehicles were witnessed numerous times at the scenes of protests...
Many of this militarized equipment is transferred through two federal programs: the 1033 and the 1122 initiatives. The 1122 program allows the police to purchase new military equipment using their own funding with the same discounts enjoyed by the federal government. The 1033 program allows the Department of Defense to transfer excess military equipment to local law enforcement agencies free of charge, as long as they pay for shipping and maintenance...
What makes both 1033 and 1122 programs so powerful is the apparent lack of clear oversight and accountability. The 1122 program, for instance, is not a grant or transfer program and thus is not required to be monitored by the federal government. Meanwhile, the 1033 program has put lethal weapons in the hands of officers who have no justifiable need for such equipment...
In some cases, equipment transferred through these programs has simply vanished due to what appears to be a lack of oversight and poor bookkeeping... [WTF?]
The National Police Foundation countered that its independent study revealed that a vast majority of equipment transferred through the 1033 program consists of nonlethal items such as “clothing, personal protective equipment” and “basic infrastructure needs...”
Interesting story. It's not a $5 billion annual business, even though the headline might give that impression.
The lack of oversight is concerning and yet another reason to end this program. If the police departments need nonlethal equipment, then create a new program just for that with better oversight, or reform the current program to end transfers of lethal equipment and create better oversight.
