[lit-ideas] SWAT Glut
- From: Eric <eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Lit-Ideas <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 16:52:32 -0500
Add this to the
"implementing-martial-law-so-slowly-nobody-will-notice-it"
file. Mobs of poorly trained paramilitary units
barging around the countryside, Keystone Kops with
body armor and MP5 submachine guns. Oops! Sorry,
wrong house. -EY
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4803570.stm
Professor Peter Kraska, an expert on police
militarisation from Eastern Kentucky University,
says that in the 1980s there were about 3,000 Swat
team deployments annually across the US, but says
now there are at least 40,000 per year.
"I have no problem with using these paramilitary
style squads to go after known violent, armed
criminals, but it is an extreme tactic to use
against other sorts of suspects," he said.
Dr Kraska believes there has been an explosion of
units in smaller towns and cities, where training
and operational standards may not be as high as
large cities - a growth he attributes to "the
hysteria" of the country's war on drugs.
"I get several calls a month from people asking
about local incidents - wrong address raids,
excessive use of force, wrongful shootings - this
stuff is happening all the time," he adds.
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
