Predator Drones, Acoustic Weapons, & Hipster Cops in Scramble Suits: Future Policing that Protects the Future From You

Hipster Cop from Sparrow Media on Vimeo.

Bringing it all back home....

Just remember, the police started using helicopters after their proven success in the Vietnam War, so it shouldn't really come as much of a surprise that moves would be afoot to now introduce drones as well. Will this be for covert surveillance only (sinister enough), or will we see these things armed as well? And if they are to be armed, how long will it be till a missile is "accidentally" launched into the next demonstration by the Occupy movement or something similar? Trust me, it will never happen to the Tea Party.

It reminds me of that wonderful line from Alien: "the company must have wanted it (i.e. the alien creature) for their Urban Pacification Unit."

"Idea of civilians using drone aircraft may soon fly with FAA - latimes.com: "The Federal Aviation Administration plans to propose new rules for the use of small drones in January, a first step toward clearing the way for police departments, farmers and others to employ the technology."

Let me guess: you're feeling safer already, right?

Paramilitary Policing of Occupy Wall Street: Future Growth Industries

The paramilitary bureaucracy and the culture it engenders—a black-and-white world in which police unions serve above all to protect the brotherhood—is worse today than it was in the 1990s. Such agencies inevitably view protesters as the enemy. And young people, poor people and people of color will forever experience the institution as an abusive, militaristic force—not just during demonstrations but every day, in neighborhoods across the country.

Much of the problem is rooted in a rigid command-and-control hierarchy based on the military model. American police forces are beholden to archaic internal systems of authority whose rules emphasize bureaucratic regulations over conduct on the streets. An officer’s hair length, the shine on his shoes and the condition of his car are more important than whether he treats a burglary victim or a sex worker with dignity and respect. In the interest of 'discipline,' too many police bosses treat their frontline officers as dependent children, which helps explain why many of them behave more like juvenile delinquents than mature, competent professionals. It also helps to explain why persistent, patterned misconduct, including racism, sexism, homophobia, brutality, perjury and corruption, do not go away, no matter how many blue-ribbon panels are commissioned or how much training is provided.

Norm Stamper
former Seattle police chief and author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop’s Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing
Paramilitary Policing From Seattle to Occupy Wall Street