Analysis of a census of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team deployments in Maryland and national panel data on militarization in approximately 9,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States suggest that SWAT team deployments increase with the local percentage of black residents and have negligible effects on officer safety and violent crime rates, whereas surveys of more than 6,000 Americans suggest that images of militarized police may harm police reputation.
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Article #18-05161: "Militarization fails to enhance police safety or reduce crime but may harm police reputation," by Jonathan Mummolo.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Mummolo, Princeton University, NJ; tel: 202-527-5640; e-mail: jmummolo@princeton.edu