Militarization and demilitarization processes in the Israeli and American police forces: Organizational and social aspects

Mainly during the first half of the 20th century American police departments tended to adopt a military organizational structure and pattern of work due to a gradual process within them of professionalization and consequently militarization. In the 1960s this approach started to draw criticism, leading to a demand for the development of a more ‘civilian’ rather than ‘military’ model of policing. Paradoxically, a renewed trend of militarization was simultaneously taking place in the police departments. Changes in more recent years suggest a similar demilitarization trend in the Israeli police, bringing about a ‘policing revolution’. This study analyzes the organizational and social characteristics and sources of these two consecutive trends in these two different policing models and countries.