Tag: police

How to Fix Our Police Departments

CNN 03/12/15 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Hank Johnson Editor’s Note: “Hank Johnson represents Georgia’s 4th Congressional District and serves on the House Judiciary and Armed Services committees. Michael Shank, a former congressional staffer, is adjunct faculty at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The views […]

Police Militarization Must Be Halted

POLITIX 10/13/14 By Michael Shank Last month, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and the House of Representatives finally took a stand against the growing militarization of our police forces and our main streets. Shortly after Congressmen Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) introduced the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement […]

The Militarization of U.S. Police Forces

REUTERS, CHICAGO TRIBUNE 10/22/13 By Michael Shank and Elizabeth Beavers This month, more Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles (MRAPs) have found their way from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the Main Streets of America. These are just the latest acquisitions in a growing practice by Pentagon that’s militarizing America’s municipal […]

America’s Police Are Looking More and More Like the Military

THE GUARDIAN 10/07/13 By Michael Shank and Elizabeth Beavers America’s streets are looking more and more like a war zone. Last week, in a small county in upstate New York with a population of roughly 120,000 people, county legislators approved the receipt of a 20-ton Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) […]

New Virginia Gun Law Will Boost Violence, Costs

WASHINGTON TIMES 02/17/12 By Michael Shank By lifting the gun purchase limit, the state of Virginia can expect to see a lifting of its violence limits as well (“Va. Senate votes to repeal one-gun-a-month law,” Web, Feb. 6). Virginia already has one of the highest rates of availability of small […]