Politicians and law enforcement officials have advocated the militarization of local law enforcement on the grounds that it promotes public and officer safety, and some early research seemingly supported those claims. Two new studies reveal limitations in the data used in this prior work. When these issues are addressed, evidence for the benefits of militarization largely vanishes.
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Mummolo, J. Re-evaluating police militarization. Nat Hum Behav 5, 181–182 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-01010-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-01010-7
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