Rise of the Warrior Cop
by Radley Balko · first published 2013
61% recommend39% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Well-documented history of how the drug war, SWAT teams, and military gear spread to local police, tracing precedents, training, and incentives. Calm and non-hyperbolic, suited to readers new to police militarization.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The last days of colonialism taught America's revolutionaries that soldiers in the streets bring conflict and tyranny. As a result, our country has generally worked to keep the military out of law enforcement. But according to investigative reporter Radley Balko, over the last several decades, America's cops have increasingly come to resemble ground troops. The consequences have been dire: the home is no longer a place of sanctuary, the Fourth Amendment has been gutted, and police today have been conditioned to see the citizens they serve as an other-an enemy. Today's armored-up policemen are
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
…routine. It happens every day on numerous occasions across the country. Unfortunately, it seems that this, along with so much else, has long ago become part of our society and culture. Balko's book, "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" is a great read about this exact subject. In it he addresses the issue with many examples and some ideas on how police forces can (and some have) changed…
on “Scenes from a militarized America” ↗…Average people of every racial and economic background were concerned about drugs in the early 80s. Boiling it down to any one thing really does a disservice to complexity of the issue. Radley Balko's "The Rise of the Warrior Cop"[1] has a lot of good historical information on the topic. [1]https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
on “FBI says seized fortune was criminals’ loot—owners say: Where’s the proof?” ↗If stories like this are new to anyone reading this, there is a great book worth checking out. "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" by Radley Balko, ISBN-13: 9781610392112
on “A SWAT team blew a hole in my 2-year-old son” ↗Community based policing, cops on neighborhood patrols, has been on the decline for years. Police funding is now more often used to to acquire military weapons/hardware. "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" is a highly recommended study of this problem. https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
on “Leaked emails show crime app Citizen is testing on-demand security force” ↗…details Baltimore's infamous gun task force, and it's shocking how many people knew what they were up to for years. People who look the other way aren't good apples. For a bit of history, Radley Balko's Rise of the Warrior Cop [2] does a great job detailing the growth of us vs. them thinking among police nationally. > It can be VERY hard to do the right thing, especially when it means it's the last thing you get to do (before…
on “LAPD ended predictive policing but a new effort shares many of their flaws” ↗Never forget Radley Balko on this topic, and he's got a new book out, Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces (http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americ...) as well as an old, hard/$$$ to find one, *Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids…
on “Obama’s crackdown views leaks as aiding enemies of U.S.” ↗Might have been this one: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6186569 Radley Balko discusses this at some length in "Rise of the Warrior Cop", cited in the article. Fascinating, scary read.
on “Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Dodges Questions About It” ↗Radley Balko’s book, which is cited in the article, "Rise of the Warrior Cop"[0] actually makes a very good argument that the 3rd Amendment which prohibits the quartering of soldiers during peacetime was referencing this exact situation, wherein a group of government controlled…
on “The Criminalization of Everyday Life” ↗As good a place as any to drop Mr Balko's opus: "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" which is all about this kind of madness. http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americ...
on “Teen Arrested for 30+ Swattings, Bomb Threats” ↗If you want a calmer, more reflective treatment of the issue, I would recommend Radley Balko's book "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces". Although it's pretty hard to discuss it calmly, precisely because once you start digging into it, there's so much stuff that's plainly damning and disgusting.…
on “Police complaints drop over 90% after deploying body cameras” ↗Radley Balko's book "Rise of the Warrior Cop" goes into these issues in depth. He looks at the history of how the war on drugs, among other things, has contributed to the rise in military equipment and tactics being used at the local level. There…
on “Door-Busting Drug Raids Leave a Trail of Blood” ↗I think the book "the rise of the warrior cop" explains that how the police does their job in the US has changed and why. It gave pretty satisfying answers as to why it's become what it is now. https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...
on “Police Homicides in the United States” ↗…posted it here the last time some poor guy got gunned down by a swat team by mistake, but Radley Balko wrote a really good book about the history of how this kind of thing became commonplace in the states; Rise of the Warrior Cop. Fascinating read.
on “LAPD arrests man on suspicion of making deadly swatting call to Wichita police” ↗If you are curious about the trend of the militarization of the police I'd suggest reading "The Rise of the Warrior Cop" by Radley Balko. One thing the book points out is that since the first SWAT team was formed in LA back in the 1960s, even law enforcement agencies with as few as 28 officers have SWAT teams. One of…
on “From NASA to Amtrak, These Are All the Government Agencies with Tactical Teams” ↗It shouldn't be shocking for anyone who was paying attention. There is a good book about related issues by Radley Balco called Rise of the Warrior Cop. Published in 2013. Unlike many comments here and on other websites it's not hysterical, or hyperbolic or contaminated with self-referential post-modernist bullshit. It is a sober and factual analysis…
on “ACLU sues Minnesota for police violence against the press” ↗