New research says demilitarizing police departments doesn’t increase crime

Equipping police departments with military-grade equipment doesn’t reduce crime or increase safety, in accordance with two independent studies. The research is a component of the continued discussion concerning the validity of “defunding the police” as a method.

IN “Police demilitarization and violent crime“Kenneth Lowande, a professor on the University of Michigan, disputes claims that the military weapons exchange program has reduced crime rates, assaults on police officers and the variety of complaints against police officers.

Finding errors in previously published data, Lowande focused on data available after the Obama administration’s 2015 order to demilitarize local police agencies. In response to public outrage over the display of militarized police in Ferguson, the Obama administration he banned some selling military equipment to police under the controversial 1033 program. The Trump administration modified this policy in 2017.

IN interview on ABC News, Lowande explained that previous research has shown that providing military equipment to police departments has a deterrent effect on crime. However, his evaluation shows that the evidence doesn’t support such conclusions. “It’s just not an accurate record,” Lowande said. “[Prior studies] clearly suggested that giving military equipment to police departments would deter criminals from committing crimes.”

The research, published within the London-based journal Nature of Human Behavior, highlights that the Trump administration relied on potentially “unreliable” data in deciding to repeal Obama-era restrictions. Based on an assessment of previous studies, Lowande concluded that the publicly available data utilized in previous studies was riddled with inaccuracies. Previous analyzes didn’t include equipment that was transferred between agencies, unused, or otherwise inoperable. Lowande also found no evidence that demilitarizing law enforcement led to an increase in crime.

The 1033 program, administered by the Defense Logistics Agency, is one among several ways law enforcement agencies acquire military equipment. Created in 1997 as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act, is estimated The 1033 program distributed greater than $7 billion in military equipment to eight,000 law enforcement agencies across the country. The program was originally created for “counter-terrorism” forces, but was later expanded to cover all law enforcement activities.

Coinciding with nationwide uprisings this summer, several House members introduced laws in June to eliminate the 1033 program. The Movement for Black Lives also released the BREATHE Act, a comprehensive legislative proposal that features funding for specific policies and abolishing the police. Section I of the proposed BREATHE ACT calls for the whole repeal of the 1033 program.