There is a long tradition of domestic surveillance in the United States. From companies spying on workers and unions to the NYPD crackdown on Muslim communities after 9/11, U.S. citizens have been the targets of spying in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces. As more of our lives are captured and preserved digitally and online, critical questions have emerged about the government’s authority to surveil Americans and non-Americans, and the tactics that private actors can employ to monitor citizens.

In this report, we explore the current sources of spending for several intelligence programs. We also call attention to historical examples of surveillance by the state and the tactics employed. Our report draws a clear connection between the taxpayer dollars spent on intelligence programs and the militarized surveillance of our neighbors and communities.

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In neighborhoods across America, the rate of police shootings and deaths of innocent people is increasing. Inflated municipal police budgets, racial profiling, lack of training, officer corruption, and lack of accountability all contribute to police violence. Another significant factor fueling this state violence is our bloated defense budget. As we discuss, the Department of Defense’s military weapons, training, and equipment facilitate a more brutal form of policing, increasing the likelihood of violent encounters with local law enforcement.

This report analyzes government programs that allow for the transfer or purchase of military equipment by state and local law enforcement agencies and the residual harmful effects these acquisitions have on communities. This report also explores how militarized police departments have historically been deployed to crack down on progressive social movements and the policy alternatives available to lawmakers to move away from militarized responses to public safety.

U.S. militarism and excessive military spending has not only had devastating consequences abroad, but it has also fueled the militarization of our border. Border militarization—or the systematic integration of military tactics and equipment into border security operations—has transformed U.S. borders into a de facto war zone with devastating and deadly consequences.

This report presents a historical overview of the border, the creation of our modern border and immigration enforcement programs, and historical and ongoing decisions that led to border militarization.

This report is the second installment of a series of five reports. Our first report provided a synopsis of the series and analyzed the connections between the ballooning military budget and adverse outcomes for local communities.

The remaining three reports will examine critical issues surrounding tribal policing, the 1033 and 1122 military equipment transfer programs, and the surveillance of Muslim communities.

Read or download the report below.

In the last few years, it’s been an increasingly common sight in communities across the United States: Local police officers with assault weapons and riot shields, using tear gas on peaceful protesters and operating military-grade vehicles. 

Law enforcement has increasingly used military grade weapons and tactics of war in our communities. This dangerous trend results from our bloated Pentagon budget and the excessive amount of weapons and equipment they own — and subsequently hand off to local police departments.

Our latest overview report explores how federal spending on the defense budget leads to the militarized policing of our neighborhoods and sheds light on the federal programs and policies that contribute to police militarization.

Later this year, we will release a series of reports that take a closer look at border policing and militarization; military weapons transfers and policing; militarized surveillance of Muslim and Black and Brown communities; and policing and tribal sovereignty.

Read or download the report below.