Police Militarization Essay

One main factor that can be traced through many militarization cases is the complex relationship between the police and the military (Chabat, Jorge, "Mexico's War" 135). To begin with, the roles and objectives of the military and the police are very different, that when combined, counteract each other (Bailey, John and Dammert, Lucia 15). The duty of the police is to protect civil society, while also being accountable to them, indicating that the use of force is only meant to be used as a last resort (Bailey, John and Dammert, Lucia 15). Alternatively, the function of the military differs in that personnel are organized in a top-down manner, contrary to the police, the military will resort to the use of force as a first option, instead of using mediation techniques to resolve issues (Bailey, John and Dammert, Lucia 15). Secondly, the police are meant to protect citizens and be aware of the community in which they function in,
Where militarization is a means to arrange, transform and restructure society in order to prepare for war (Bernazzoli, Richelle M. 402). Whereas militarism is a type of indoctrination that begins in society; through a constantly evolving and restructuring of values, ethics, and morals in order to reshape the community mindset to brace for war (Bernazzoli, Richelle M. 399-400). It is an ideology that emphasizes the use of arms and force as the most efficient manner in solving problems (Kraska, Peter B. 503). In other words, militarism can be understood as the overarching ideology and its tool to administer is militarization. Where militarization is the process of employing military style weapons, training and implementation to a particular organization or situation (Kraska, Peter B.