Eleutherian

The militarization of police forces around the world is a growing problem. While studying at a Chinese university, I never grew comfortable riding elevators with police officers armed with automatic rifles.

Police militarization is not limited to authoritarian countries but may be a sign that a country is moving in that direction. Many U.S. cities, including Washington, DC, have begun to arm their officers with automatic weapons.

In the UK, police forces have special powers to stop "raves," defined as:

A gathering on land in the open air of 100 or more persons (whether or not trespassers) at which amplified music is played during the night (with or without intermissions) and is such as, by reason of its loudness and duration and the time at which it is played, is likely to cause serious distress to the inhabitants of the locality.

To show their force, the police used (or abused) this law in breaking up a "rave" that was posted as an all-night event on Facebook. Actually, the "rave" was a 30th birthday party barbecue on private property. The event had 17 confirmed guests on Facebook.

The police arrived at 4pm (before the hosts turned on any music) with riot vans, body armor, and a helicopter! Naturally, the police defend their actions against claims of excessive force.