The 1033 program and Police militarization

Our report finds that police militarization is more complex than we thought — but meaningful reform is possible by strengthening democratic accountability.

Overview

Public concerns about militarization of the police resurfaced during the racial justice protests of 2020. Despite the fact that most protests were peaceful and well within First Amendment bounds, images showed many policing agencies outfitted in or using gear reminiscent of a war zone. Many have blamed the U.S. Department of Defense’s “1033 Program,” which provides surplus military equipment to local policing agencies, for the growth of this militarization. 

Yet, a new report by researchers at the Policing Project, The Politics of Policing Lab at Emory University, and the National Police Foundation finds that ending the 1033 Program will not curtail police militarization. Our research team—which visited eight policing agencies across the U.S. and spoke with individuals familiar with their agency’s participation in the 1033 program—found that policing agencies acquire militarized equipment from sources beyond the 1033 Program, and in fact prefer doing so. If militarization is a concern, these other sources of investigation require scrutiny.

We offer a number of recommendations to increase democratic oversight of the 1033 Program, and to better regulate the acquisition of militarized equipment through other sources. 

Key recommendations

1. Evaluate All Acquisition of Militarized Equipment, Not Just the 1033 Program.
Public officials and legislators should investigate and regulate funding mechanisms beyond the 1033 Program that contribute to the militarization of local policing.

2. Strengthen Democratically-Accountable Channels for the Acquisition of Militarized Equipment.
The 1033 Program requires an annual, general sign off by local officials, but this is no substitute for careful scrutiny. Local officials should review requests by the police to acquire controlled equipment and the 1033 Program should require such specific approval.

3.  Improve the Accounting for 1033 Surplus Military Equipment.
There should be better tracking and public disclosure of the acquisition of controlled equipment by the federal government and local policing agencies.

4. Consider Providing Uncontrolled Equipment to Non-Policing Agencies.
The bulk of what policing agencies acquire is “uncontrolled” surplus equipment—such as blankets, office furniture, refrigerators, and power tools. Other government agencies and even non-profit organizations face serious resource constraints and could benefit from uncontrolled 1033 items.

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