Police Militarization: Attitudes Towards the Militarization of the American Police

Police militarization is a critical contemporary issue in the criminal justice field; however, only a minor amount of research exists on this issue. Almost no research exists on public attitudes toward police militarization, which is very important given the social context. A contextual literature review covers a brief history of American police with emphasis on key events leading to modern police militarization, such as the Munich Incident and Columbine. Also covered are research topics that help outline the need for research on public attitudes in this field, such as the amount and use of PPUs by Peter Kraska and the idea of role convergence. Google Docs was used to generate and disseminate an electronic survey to a random sample of ETSU students. Statistical findings show that, while militarization does play a significant role in public confidence in the police, positive public attitudes and fear of the police play a much more significant role