Militarized Police Force

Militarized policing is the current focus of public attention.  It has been brought to the spotlight by recent events in Ferguson Mo.  Previously it has been an emerging issue getting increasingly more attention, which it truly deserves.  The existence and use of military equipment in community policing is simply an extension of the self perceived nature and intent of institutional public police forces held by the police forces themselves independent of the public face of police policy to serve and protect.

Graphic pictures of military equipment in use by police forces are coming out of Ferguson Mo.  The equipment is "tip of the spear" stuff.  The equipment that delivers death and destruction with sound and fury.  That is what it was made for.  Offense first and foremost, protective defense of forces while executing its offense mission.

Biggest and baddest at representing the execution of force and authority control is the Bearcat built by Lenco.  It is the shock and awe vehicle of police force deployment against the civil population.  As if outfitted by a total package designer everything related to the use of this vehicle is military themed all the way down to desert boots.  The only theme choice offered is camouflage or Blackwater black.  Funny how tropical camouflage does not hide police well in an urban environment!  Black is better for night ops.

Along with military equipment comes military tactics that deliver the message that the equipment has an effective bite by trained forces.

This equipment and its use comes out and gets attention.  It is coming out more often as is the self perception of police forces regarding themselves, their mission, which is independent of formal public policy to serve and protect.

What is not seen is the secret intelligence gathering behind the use of militarized tip of the spear equipment and personnel.  The Federal government is the source of military equipment to police forces.  Communications and intelligence are the unseen logistical structure behind the tip of the spear.  It is a tooth to tail ratio that says there is more logistic support behind the tip of the spear than meets the eye.  While the business end of the spear comes out occasionally when needed, the back end logistics that support it are always at work gathering intelligence.

After dropping atom bombs on Japan we never dropped another for its intended purpose but secret intelligence gathering to support exactly that purpose was what employed substantial resources and those in the nuclear weapon program.

There are calls to reduce the militarization of the police forces.  Legislation to do that is being introduced.  Communities will certainly be re-considering their purchase of military tip of the spear equipment as well as its use.  What will not get attention is the militarization of police intelligence gathering.  Intelligence gathering that in a war scenario grants no rights to the enemy in the same manner that no rights, with few exceptions of conventions are granted in actual military combat.

There is second tier military industrial business opportunity in transfer of federal military combat hardware equipment to police forces.  Bearcats manned by police are obvious.  Military intelligence systems used by police forces are not so apparent, in fact they are generally secret.  The structure of police intelligence systems is locally present on a statewide basis at Fusion Centers.   Fusion Centers, in my opinion can be viewed as militarization of policing forces as much as the equipment in the street.

The Missouri Fusion Centers are at two locations:

Missouri Information and Analysis Center, 2302 Militia Drive Jefferson City, MO and

St. Louis Terrorism Early Warning Group, 7900 Forsyth Blvd, St. Louis MO

Militia drive is an excellent address for a military style operation!

While everyone is focused on Ferguson. what is going on at these Fusion Centers?  They are the back offices of militarized policing.  I would not be surprised in simple parking lot observation revealed that there are more cars parked around these areas now than before Ferguson became identified with militarized police operations.  It is an opportunity to test Fusion Center response to civil unrest.  Exactly how the Fusion Center is responding and in accordance with what rules and regulations and what laws would be of perhaps as much or even more public interest on a national scale as what is going on in the streets of Ferguson where the gloves came off publicly.

Federal agencies are now moving in to establish control in Ferguson.   It is obvious that their local point of command and control will be the Fusion Center.  While the Fusion Center is a partnership of federal, state, local and private entities, it would be interesting to see how this partnership operates in time of actual employment.  Insight into that operation will not be as simple as seeing what is going on in the streets.  I think that operation will however have far greater relationship to government exercise of the protection of civil rights and liberties according to the law than a yet to be determined violation of the law relating to a young black man.

Militarized Policing  An excellent analysis but we need to look at the militarized capabilities and methods behind the tip of the militarized police spear.