Militarizing the American Criminal Justice System: The Changing Roles of the Armed Forces and the Police

Controlling threats to national security has long been the mission of the U.S. military, while civilian law enforcement has dealt with domestic problems of crime, illegal drugs, and internal disorder. This groundbreaking collection argues persuasively that the conventional distinctions between these two forces are becoming blurred and considers the far-reaching consequences of the disquieting trend to militarize the nation's criminal justice system.

The contributors examine the historical and current interrelationships between the military and police, illuminating such areas as the ideological similarities between waging "real wars" and fighting the wars on drugs and crime, the reshaping of the military's role after the end of the Cold War, the rapidly growing influence of advanced military technology in civilian society, and the adaptation of military models such as boot camps and SWAT teams in policing and corrections.

Peter B. Kraska is Professor of Criminal Justice at Eastern Kentucky University. He is the author of Altered States of Mind: Critical Observations of the Drug War and Drugs, Crimes, and Justice. He lives in Lancaster, Kentucky.