Bob Paulson, present RCMP commissioner, recently expressed concerns about growing police militarization in Canada. He urged that those in the country need to remember to be more thoughtful and conservative with their policing efforts, as he sees that the Canadian police forces continue to become increasingly militarized.

It's important for officers to have good equipment, he admits, but he thinks they need to be more deliberate in their efforts.

Paulson said that he is concerned about the growing trend in policing toward using military-style tools in order to conduct police operations. He says that because of the trend toward more military-style vehicles and equipment etc, that there is an ever-growing priority placed on force; rather than problem-solving efforts, community-oriented projects, and other preventative approaches.

According to Statistics Canada, the crime rate there has been on the decline for several years, despite a slight uptick (for the first time in over a decade) being recorded in the last few years. Still, there doesn't appear to be any pressing reason why the police might feel that there is such a threat/need to increasingly militarize their police forces. Yet, they still continue to move in that direction.

Blurring The Lines Between Police & Military

Unfortunately, this isn't a concern specific to Canada, as many other police forces are also embracing the chance to incorporate more military-style equipment into their police operations; especially the United States. For the U.S., much of its equipment is recycled war gear from their endless wars overseas; now trickling down to their various police departments.

There is an unquestionable need to use a SWAT-style approach when it comes to DE-escalating some serious and violent emergencies. And because of the militarization trend in policing, raids have dramatically increased throughout the U.S. over the last decade, but do we need such forceful tactics employed when executing a few simple search warrants? Or dealing with shoplifters etc?

Don't Forget About The People

Paulson says that the preventative approach in policing is better suited to the “Canadian context” and he sees a pressing need for the police force to be cautious about their perception in the public's eye. They need to think about how they engage with the public and try to exercise healthy discretion with any use of force.

If they continue to militarize and aren't cautious about their relationship with the community, Paulson admits, then they are only going to breed an “us-vs-them” atmosphere; distancing themselves from the community.

Pics:
Pixabay
Canadian Press
Newsone

Sources:
http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/rcmp-commissioner-worried-about-police-militarization/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militarization_of_police
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/02/06/rcmp-commissioner-worries-caustic-political-discourse-is-radicalizing-extremists.html
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/do-not-resist-and-the-crisis-of-police-militarization
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/08/14/are-police-forces-excessively-armed/police-militarization-is-out-of-control-and-theres-no-oversight
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/canada-crime-stats-rate-increase-statistics-canada-severity-index-police-1.3686871
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/us/war-gear-flows-to-police-departments.html