The Police-Industrial-Entertainment Complex

[damnedifIknow]

In my book on police militarization, I have a section on the role pop culture has played in blurring the line between cops and soldiers, particularly with the onset of reality(ish) shows like A&E's Dallas SWAT or Spike TV's DEA. Over at the blog Gun Culture 2.0, sociologist David Yamane looks at a bizarre new reality competition on the Outdoor Channel called Elite Tactical Unit: S.W.A.T., which features SWAT teams from across the country competing in a number of SWAT-like competitions for a $100,000 prize. As Yamane describes it, "ETU is basically 'Survivor' set in the world of police special forces."

Of particular interest is the show's sponsorship by the Swiss gun manufacturer SIG Sauer. "

*We're looking at the formation of what you might call a "police-industrial complex," in which we now have companies like SIG, Lenco, and others who either have recently sprung up entirely to build military-grade gear for police agencies, or who are diverting resources away from securing Pentagon contracts toward marketing their services to police."

*We have policies that provide incentives for police to become more militarized. Those policies have given rise to a cottage industry of corporations whose bottom line now relies on further and perpetual police militarization. And over the last decade or so, the cable dial has been stuffed full of programming that serves to make us more comfortable with police units that treat neighborhoods like battlefields. "

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/02/the-police-industrialente_n_4372272.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592