Militarization of the police in both equipment and training, largely due to a surplus from the various Middle East wars and a need to expand the military indust

Militarization of the police in both equipment and training, largely due to a surplus from the various Middle East wars and a need to expand the military industrial complex (this isn't a political statement, the way budgets are determined in the military highly incentivizes branches to get rid of old equipment) is a large factor. Training dollars have largely fallen across the board, and there has been a growing emphasis on combat/SWAT training while training for things like neighborhood policing, de-escalation, non-violent combat, and situation management have dropped significantly. Falling real dollar salaries for police don't necessarily attract the best and brightest, which means most people who join for personal reasons (i.e. your stereotypical bright eyed rookie trying to make a positive difference) leave the force rather quickly due to the myriad of problems within modern police culture. This reduces the force to people mainly interested in pensions and knocking heads. Largely misplaced political and social fury put on individual actors instead of systemic problems has created an us vs them mentality where departments circle the wagons and refuse to regulate internally, while conversely most people have never been less likely to help, trust, or assist police. Economic incentives (private prison industry, asset forfeiture, speed ticket revenues, etc) have created a culture where "good policing" is policing that turns a profit. We had (have?) a "War on Drugs" where the opposing combatants were the police and the populace. Zero tolerance rules, repeat offender policies, license plate scanners, and policies largely stemming from the Drug War incentivize a shoot first, ask questions later mentality. Police are also much more likely to assume the worst of a citizen they are approaching regardless of race or sex compared to 20 and 30 years ago (there was a this american life about this a while back I believe). We've woven a very tangled web. Hopefully we can get out of it, but it'll be very difficult.