What are the Benefits of the 1033 Program?

Project 1033 is an innovative way to get rid of military equipment that the military no longer needs, while providing an inexpensive way for police departments around the country to get some of the additional equipment that they need. When the military is done with some of their equipment, they can offer it for sale through Project 1033, and qualified departments can purchase the items for a discounted rate.

There are a lot of benefits that come with Project 1033, making it a wild success for many who have chosen to participate in it. Some of the benefits of Project 1033 includes:

Provides Police Departments with the Equipment They Need

Funding for some police departments throughout the country can be limited. Whether there need to be budget cuts or the department is in a more rural area, finding a way to stretch the money provided further can be almost impossible. But the officers who work so hard to protect and serve still need the right equipment to get it done. Project 1033 provides an inexpensive way for them to get what they need, keeping them protected and in budget. When police departments can get new and advanced weaponry for a discounted price, it benefits everyone.

Protects Police Officers

Police officers put their lives at risk on a daily basis. While some days may be calmer than others and they may not have to worry about anything bad happening, there are also days when they have to worry about violence, shooting, and more. While others will run away from the danger, these officers will run right to it and try to make it stop.

The weapons that police forces can get from Project 1033 can allow them to stay safer. Many times, these items are big enough that they can stop a disturbance with just a warning shot. If the officer still needs to get further into the mess, they will have the safety equipment and more that will make sure they are as safe as possible in the line of fire.

Protects the Citizens

While there is some negative perceptions on military equipment in the hands of local police force, providing the police departments in many areas with these military-grade equipment can help keep the citizens of the area safe. While many cities will choose not to gather this equipment, even if they qualify, because they are worried about public perception. But many rural communities are choosing these tools and weaponry to help protect the citizens and make the streets safer.

Project 1033 is a great option for many police forces across the country to get some of the weapons, vehicles, and more that they need. While these items are military-grade, they are difficult for a regular police force to gain access to on their own. This program has many benefits for the local police forces, allowing them to get better equipment, protect their officers, and protect the people they serve at the same time.

Article written by Melinda Carter, whose writing work on the intersection between civilian and military life can be found on Reuters, Dominion, and Investing.

The Goal of 1033 Program

The 1033 program has seen increased humanitarian concerns, with findings indicating a tremendous rise in various humanitarian factors, including police-based racial violence and police brutality. These, among other concerns, have informed the move by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez to table a bill seeking the scrapping of the program. Her efforts have gained significant momentum in the new Congress despite the program having numerous powerful figures, especially from the Trump administration, that vehemently backed the program. We examine why this program has been such a controversial bone of contention in congress, with split views on whether to continue its implementation.

Why is its scrapping being advocated for?

The 1033 program has been a controversial topic, especially within humanitarian circles, which view the militarization of local police departments as a step backward from enhancing human rights standards. Studies have shown how much of a negative impact is caused by arming local police departments with military-grade weaponry. For instance, findings have shown that an increase in weaponry in local police departments has been known to significantly increase civilian deaths at the hands of police, as arming them with military-grade weapons and equipment tends to encourage a military-based mentality much more violent than conventional policing.

Various humanitarian groups have expressed concerns supporting the bill re-introduced to congress by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and backed by various other members of Congress. These concerns majorly revolve around the tendencies and high likelihood of heightened levels of violence due to the militarization of local police departments. This has been viewed as undoing progress towards improving civilian safety owing to the sustained implementation of the 1033 program since the early 1990s. Its scrapping is not only projected to support efforts at promoting peace but as well to help with channeling budgetary resources towards more productive and viable programs. 

Who is involved with the bill to scrap the program?

There are numerous interested parties that have come out to endorse the bill reintroduced to congress by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. Some of the co-sponsors of the bill include; Barbara Lee, Rashida Tlaib, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ayanna Pressley, Yvette D. Clarke, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan, Don Beyer, Ro Khanna, Kathy Castor, Adriano Espaillat, Chellie Pingree Carolyn Maloney, James P. McGovern, Ilhan Omar, Jan Schakowsky, Cori Bush, 

Some of the organizations in support of this bill include; the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Center for Victims of Torture, Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at New York University School of Law, Church of Scientology National Affairs Office, Church World Service, CODEPINK, Color Of Change, Common Defense, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Daily Kos, The Daniel Initiative, Defending Rights & Dissent, Dignity & Power NOW, Dream Corps JUSTICE, Drug Policy Alliance, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC), Equal Justice Society, Equal Rights Advocates, Essie Justice Group.

Conclusion

The demilitarization of local police departments is largely viewed as a necessary step forward toward achieving set human rights goals. This is due to the significant negative impact the 1033 program has undeniably had on the public perception regarding efforts by police to maintain law and order.

The 1033 Program and the New Congress

Since the early 90s, there have been deliberate attempts to equip local and state police with military-grade weapons and equipment. This has been informed by efforts to effectively minimize and prevent rising criminal acts in American society. While these efforts were established based on well-founded intentions, the subsequent consequences have been alarming. They have triggered a review of the entire plan, with a large section of congress calling for a complete program shutdown. We take a look at the implications of this program and why its termination is being called for.

The 1033 program

In the early 1990s, it was found that local and state police were severely under-equipped to facilitate the effective execution of their assigned duties of protecting civilian livelihoods while maintaining law and order. The increase in violent crimes that involved the use of lethal and high-caliber weapons had an overwhelming effect on the police force and inevitably placed the lives of police personnel as well as civilian life in mortal danger. This triggered drastic retaliatory measures that included arming local and state police with military-grade weapons and equipment to give them a better chance at combating the dangerous crime wave that continued to sweep across the nation.

This move, however, had some profoundly far-reaching societal effects that triggered calls for a review of the matter with an underlying aim to entirely shut down the 1033 program. The concerns arising from this program continue to draw heated debates in the new congress as powerful figures in various socio-political capacities lock horns in defending their respective arguments to either uphold or scrap the program.

The program’s impact

The 1033 program has, since its inception, been a controversial endeavor, and the debate around it in congress has brought to light some major concerns requiring evaluation. Below are some of the glaring concerns raised as a result of its implementation;

Safety concerns

As congresswoman Nydia Velazquez pointed out, the police force is inevitably prone to unnecessarily act like an occupying military while executing their law enforcement duties when equipped with weapons and equipment of such caliber. Studies have supported this sentiment by showing that police are highly likely to use force whenever equipped with military-grade weapons and equipment. It has also been found that civilian deaths at the hands of police are much more likely to be high owing to a significant influx of military resources into the police force. These, among other safety concerns, make the basis of the argument to do away with the program.

The cost of the program

Military-grade weapons are relatively costly and have, as such, sunk into the national budget costing taxpayers billions of dollars. For instance, it cost an average of about $ 1.5 billion between 2006 and 2014 to equip local law enforcement with military-grade weapons and equipment consisting of ambush-protected and mine-resistant vehicles. This is hefty going by the work-related standards of local police.

Conclusion

The 1033 program has been controversial since its inception in the early 1990s, with its implementation splitting congress almost in equal measure between those who support it and those who are against it entirely. A bill to do away with the program is currently being objectively debated, with various concerns raised against it.

New Congress

Equipment used against First Amendment protestors

During the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011, the police forces of Portland, Oregon, and other cities throughout the country used 1033 Program weapons to repress First Amendment protestors. These weapons included a long-range acoustic device, and a sound cannon, which disrupted events and caused disorientation and pain to the crowd. Other weapons included pepper spray, concussion grenades, and water cannons.

The 1033 Program has facilitated the militarization of law enforcement, including school police departments and small-town police departments. These police departments have received billions of dollars in funding from the Department of Justice and Homeland Security. In addition to supplying law enforcement with military-grade equipment, these programs have allowed local police departments to use heavy-duty gear to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies. These departments have also used militarized equipment against peaceful protestors, such as during the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

The 1033 Program is the largest of a series of federal programs that subsidize law enforcement and has facilitated the militarization of local police forces. The program provides law enforcement with military-grade gear that is often inappropriate for their tasks. The militarization of local law enforcement has impacted a variety of aspects of American life, from the way protestors are treated to the way racial minorities are treated in policing.

In 2015, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to restrict certain categories of military equipment that can be transferred to law enforcement agencies. The order also included an executive order that reimposed some of the restrictions that Obama had previously lifted. It also required public disclosure of information related to the 1033 Program. The executive order restricted the transfer of explosives, grenade launchers, and tracked armored vehicles, as well as mine-resistant vehicles.

President Obama also signed a series of executive orders that limited the number of military-grade rifles and bayonets that can be transferred to local law enforcement. But the total number of items that were banned from being transferred was relatively small. It represented less than ten percent of the equipment in circulation.

President Donald Trump rescinded Obama’s executive order in August. The president also rolled back Obama-era immigration restrictions. But despite the efforts of many legislators and activists, Congress has not done much to limit the 1033 program.

As a result, the number of dangerous equipment in circulation remains high. This equipment should be destroyed by law enforcement agencies or the Department of Defense, and records of the destruction should be made publicly available on the LESO website.

The National Organization of Police Associations (NOPA) organized opposition to the 1033 program and pressed senior administration officials to act. In the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd, former vice president Joe Biden called for the end of the program. However, Biden did not act.

Controls and oversight

Using the Department of Defense’s 1033 program for the purpose of transferring surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies is not a new practice, but it is one that requires additional oversight. As the number of items transferred from the Pentagon to police forces has increased, so has the need for more oversight. This has led to a number of reports on the program from the Government Accountability Office. In the most recent report, the GAO created a fictitious police department, which then received 100 items worth about $1.2 million. The GAO found that the 1033 program was not necessarily the most effective way to acquire military equipment. However, it did find that there are several programs that can facilitate the transfer of excess military-style equipment to LEAs.

The program is designed to support the US Department of Defense’s counter-drug activities, but it has also become a boon to law enforcement. Since its inception, the program has transferred nearly $5 billion in equipment to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. According to the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency, as of June 2020, the program will have facilitated the transfer of surplus military equipment to 8,200 law enforcement agencies.

The Department of Defense is responsible for monitoring the 1033 program, and a number of reports have been published in the past few years. The GAO found that the program had a number of shortcomings, including the absence of any meaningful oversight and waste. Despite these limitations, the program has been useful in reducing the number of excess items in the US military arsenal. The program has also allowed police forces to obtain firearms that otherwise would not have been available to them.

The most obvious drawback of the program is the transfer of military-style equipment to law enforcement, as many small police departments cannot afford to acquire such equipment. One example is the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona, which passed on $7 million worth of military-style equipment to non-law enforcement agencies. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office planned to auction off the equipment, but passed on weapons like grenade launchers and tracked armored vehicles.

The 1033 program has also been criticized by local media for its lack of transparency. The program has been criticized in several reports, including the 2003 DOD Inspector General’s report. The 1033 program has also been criticized by the National Police Foundation, which has called for policy changes. Some federal lawmakers have also called for an overhaul of the program. However, despite this and other criticisms, the program has continued to operate, and the Trump administration has largely reaffirmed its support.

In 2013, the property value of the 1033 program reached $450 million. This is almost triple the property value of the program in 2012. This figure is a measure of the program’s success in transferring military equipment to law enforcement agencies. The program has been an important component of the Department of Defense’s Counter-Drug Program, as well as the department’s counter-terrorism efforts. The property value of the program has also increased as the number of DoD combat operations overseas has increased.

1033 Program

The 1033 Program and the New Congress

Until recently, the 1033 Program was an effective way to protect Americans against terrorist attacks. But now, with a new Congress, the program may be in jeopardy. In this article, we will discuss the program and the new legislation that is reforming it.

Legislation reforming the 1033 Program

Congressional attention has been drawn to the 1033 Program, a federal program that allows domestic policing agencies to acquire surplus military equipment from the Department of Defense. This program isn’t new but has been subject to some noteworthy reforms in 2015. One such reform is the Stop and Frisk program, created in the wake of the George Floyd shooting. This program, which is still in place, uses a mix of both private and public funds to target high-risk neighborhoods. Its purported benefits aren’t all that promising.

The 1033 Program is just one of many programs aimed at bolstering police and community relations. This includes the Department of Homeland Security’s Urban Areas Strategy Initiative and Byrne Justice Assistance Grants. While these programs are not directly connected to one another, they are allies in the war against crime. These programs may not seem like they have a lot in common, but the end results are the same. The militarized policing of today’s world is alarming, to say the least.

As a matter of fact, the 1033 Program is a bit of a misnomer. This is especially true when one considers that the program has been around since 1996. As a result, most agencies haven’t developed policies to govern the use of the program’s many baubles. While this oversight is a serious concern, there are other, more tangible reasons for Congress to take the requisite steps to address this glaring oversight.

One way to address the program’s shortcomings is to take a hard look at the funding mechanisms that support it. A Washington State lawmaker recently introduced legislation that would curb the 1033 Program’s most ominous activities. This would include the aforementioned Stop and Frisk program, and the bafflingly named Urban Areas Strategy Initiative. Aside from a budgetary cap, these measures would also require public officials to investigate the 1033 Program’s ilk and look for other ways to help reduce the militarization of domestic law enforcement.

The best way to implement this is to create a streamlined 1033 Program that only authorizes the most important items and prohibits any and all others. This would also ensure that the 1033 Program is used for what it was intended for – providing equipment for law enforcement – rather than simply distributing military-grade equipment to police departments and other government agencies across the country. The resulting reduction in unnecessary and unused military-grade equipment would reduce the cost to taxpayers, and perhaps most importantly, reduce the number of people killed by police officers and criminals alike.