Patterns of Police Militarization in the United States: Evidence from LESO Acquisitions

• In Event: Police Tools, Force, and Force Reduction

Abstract

Police militarization captured the nation's attention in 2014, when local law enforcement agencies near Ferguson, Missouri, rolled into protests in armored vehicles and military equipment. Since 1990, local law enforcement agencies across the country have acquired surplus military equipment through the federal Law Enforcement Surplus Office, or LESO. This paper describes the temporal and geographic pattern of police militarization. It does so by analyzing data on all LESO acquisitions from 1990 through yearend 2016. The data show the requesting agency, the items requested, the original acquisition value, and the date of shipment. Results reveal that the LESO program has disbursed more than $2.2 billion in equipment to more than 6,000 agencies since 1990. Sun Belt states have acquired an outsized share of these disbursals, with Florida, Texas, and California being the biggest beneficiaries. Disbursals peaked in 2014, with 1,690 agencies acquiring $500 million worth of equipment. Acquisitions included various pieces of equipment with uncertain civilian applications, including 830 mine-resistant vehicles. This paper contributes to our understanding of police militarization by providing the most up-to-date and granular analysis of LESO acquisitions. The results have implications for criminological literature on police legitimacy, community policing, and police use of force.

Authors

• Brett Burkhardt, Oregon State University

• Keith Baker, Oregon State University