Police Militarization: A View from the Inside

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

Police chiefs and tactical officers were interviewed about police militarization. The questions developed for the interviews were based on the findings in a separate survey; however, interviews allowed for more open discussion about the complexity of an issue. The 11 police chiefs and 12 tactical officers are employed in a variety of police agencies from across the country. Several themes emerged from the interviews. Often there was “conceptual crossover” during the conversations, in that the chiefs and tactical officers might be discussing one issue as it related to another topic of interest. It was decided that, rather than examining solely the response to each question, an analysis of their responses would consider and identify the different themes that were discussed by the respondents. This would provide a better understanding of their overall thinking and how the different themes were appreciated in relation to each other.

Author

• Scott Phillips, State University of New York at Buffalo State