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Police Forces Dressing In Black To "Instill Fear"
In Citizens
Psychological influence of uniforms cited by authorities
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Recent news that police in Massachusetts are to switch to black,
military-style uniforms in an effort to appear more authoritative
and aggressive highlights a more general move to militarize police
in America and affect a "post 9/11" psychology of fear.
Last week an AP report headlined Massachusetts
Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of 'Fear'
detailed the move:
Sgt. John Delaney told a city council hearing
Wednesday that the stark uniforms send a message to criminals
that officers are serious about making arrests.
Delaney said a sense of "fear" has been missing for
the past few years.
In recent years police in cities all over America have been increasingly
seen in all black attire.
The introduction of black police uniforms has an ominous precedent.
In 1932 Hitler's propaganda chief Heinrich Himmler famously introduced
black uniforms for SS police, tailored to project authority and
foster fear and respect. The choice of color was not by chance.
It is believed that the Nazis took the idea from the "blackshirts"
in Italy years before the creation of the SS.
(Article continues below)
A 2001
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin has summarized research
on police uniforms and noted the psychological influence they
have:
Research has suggested that clothing has a powerful impact
on how people perceive each other. The police officer's uniform
has a profound psychological impact on others, and even slight
alterations to the style of the uniform may change how citizens
perceive them.
The studies cited found that black uniforms elicit emotions of
anger, hostility, dominance, and aggression:
Applying the results of these studies in color to the police
uniform suggests that darker police uniforms may send negative
subconscious signals to citizens. A dark police uniform may
subconsciously encourage citizens to perceive officers as aggressive,
evil, or corrupt and send a negative message to the community.
Even more interesting are further findings that suggest both
police officers and citizens are more likely to engage each other
violently when the authorities come dressed in black:
The experiment with the colored jerseys also suggests that
police officers in dark uniforms subconsciously may act more
aggressively; therefore, departments should consider modifying
police uniform colors.
The police uniform also may influence the safety level of the
officer who wears it. Dark colored uniforms may elicit subconscious
negative feelings from citizens, who may perceive the officer
as aggressive, and subsequently, encourage them to consider
violent action when confronted by the police.
Research has also shown that police uniforms with a lighter half
have been ranked by citizens as "good, honest, helpful, and
competent, the lighter colored sheriff's uniform rated noticeably
higher for warmth and friendliness".
It is telling that police have ditched these in favor of the
all black approach.
The same black uniform tactics have been adopted
by police forces in the UK, who have ditched traditional
uniforms in favor of black roll-necks and black combat trousers.
MPs have spoken out against the move, with David Jones, Conservative
MP for Clwyd West describing the uniforms as "sinister".
"I think that the connotations of black shirts are obvious
to anybody. They've got a kind of fascist, militaristic appearance."
Jones commented at the time.
When the role of the police in a supposedly free country is to
admittedly appear dangerous and to instill fear, in tandem with
enhanced powers and more draconian practices, history
tells us that something is most definitely not right.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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