Police Militarization Quiz

Analysis of SWAT Teams and Police Actions

• The author critiques articles by Cooper, Balko, and Kraska, resulting in a 60-page analysis of Cooper's work and a 40-page analysis of Balko's paper.
• The author repurposes the earlier Kraska articles as Chapters 2 and 3 of a book, adding an introduction, and updates Chapters 4 and 5 with more recent research on Cooper and Balko's work.
• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) study on police militarization, co-authored by Mr. Balko, is critiqued in Chapter 6 of the book.
• The author shifts focus to the prevalence of drug raids by SWAT teams in poor, minority neighborhoods, leading to a closer examination of the correlation among race, poverty, and drugs in Chapter 7.
• Statistical analysis in Chapter 7 indicates that poverty does not directly correlate with drug arrests but reveals a disproportionate arrest and incarceration of black and Hispanic citizens for drug possession.
• The author interviews a local police commander involved in the Ferguson riots, highlighting the misunderstood situation and the defensive use of armored vehicles and tear gas by the police.
• The author also interviews a Baltimore police commander involved in riots, emphasizing the lack of response due to lack of preparation, leadership, or political pressure.
• The author clarifies that the analysis is not pro-police but a critique of poor social science formulation and highlights cases of civilians killed by the police in Chapter 10.
• Chapter 11 presents programs and techniques for police to avoid violence, and Chapter 12 reiterates the idea that police are not soldiers and their role is primarily order maintenance and keeping the peace.
• The author challenges the notion of police militarization, arguing that it should be eliminated from discussions and accuses Balko of having an anti-police agenda driven by a right-wing libertarian political perspective.
• The author claims to have no agenda and aims to provide a fair and balanced analysis of SWAT team actions and the role of the police in American society.
• The author concludes that the notion of police militarization is wrong and emphasizes the need for a fair and balanced analysis of police actions.