In 1997, the National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law by U.S. President Bill Clinton. According to section 1033 of the bill, the Secretary of Defense is permitted to transfer surplus military hardware to state and local law enforcement agencies at no cost and with little public oversight. While proponents argue that this equipment is crucial for protecting police officers and civilians, data shows that the militarization of law enforcement has been used as a means to threaten civilian lives, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, in the name of fighting crime.

As opposed to safeguarding communities, the 1033 program has prompted U.S. police officers to appear and behave synonymous to soldiers at war. While police militarization in the U.S. is not new—as illustrated by militarized slave patrols and colonial militias—the U.S. has seen a drastic increase in these tactics since the 9/11 attacks. The rapid acquisition of military-grade equipment has overall given rise to a militarized mindset among law enforcement in which they have arguably come to interpret their responsibility in society through an “us versus them” lens. To innocent people, officers equipped with military gear send a frightening message: “Your local police see you as threats, not as fellow citizens,” according to scholar Cynthia Enloe. When police officers are trained, dressed, and armed analogous to military soldiers, it is not unexpected that the police will begin to act as such.

Considering the history of policing is rooted in the desire to uphold racist policies—slave patrols were the first policing organizations in the early southern colonies—cases of police brutality have always disproportionately affected people of color, and the militarization of law enforcement will only exacerbate the violence. It has been found that a greater amount of militarized equipment is provided to police departments in Black neighborhoods. As a result, Black Americans are 2.8 times more likely to be killed by police in comparison to White Americans, as found by the Mapping Police Violence database. By militarizing an institution that has failed to reconcile with its racist founding, U.S. law enforcement has played a major role in creating unnecessary tragedies and dismantling the trust between officers and the neighborhoods they are expected to serve.

Despite evidence to the contrary, many continue to believe that excessive police force is necessary to deter crime, promote security, and help law enforcement agencies save money on equipment. However, researchers have found that police militarization has had no effect on decreasing or preventing crime and has overall rendered police less effective in fulfilling the task of protecting citizens.

Although many of the issues stated above are systemic and will require a great deal of reform, withdrawing from the 1033 program is an important step in improving the future of law enforcement. To do this, legislators should propose bills that restrict the operations and budgets of local police departments that use certain types of weaponry, such as grenade launchers or armored vehicles. Legislation should also call for stricter reporting and oversight by demanding that law enforcement agencies provide records containing information regarding the use and inventory of military weapons. This would be similar to a Maryland law requiring S.W.A.T. teams to report data on activations and deployments, according to the A.C.L.U.

To best advocate for these bills and inform future reforms, it will be useful for legislators to support research that investigates how militarized weapons are used, the effects it has on the relationships between local communities and officers, and the disproportionate harm they cause to people of color.

Due to the many flaws of the 1033 program, it is clear that the harms of police militarization far exceed any possible benefits, making the proposed policy recommendations a top priority. Police officers should not have the authority to use tactics of war on our streets—it is inhumane and does not serve the interest of justice.