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Criminology

The perils of military policing

Nature Human Behaviour volume 7, pages 843–844 (2023)Cite this article

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Many policymakers turn to the military to reduce crime. Yet, evidence describing the effects of military policing is nearly nonexistent. Blair and Weintraub evaluate the effects of military policing on crime and human rights violations in Cali, Colombia. Their results suggest crime incidence and insecurity perceptions did not decrease, which leaves lessons for the design and implementation of security policies.

Given limited success with similar approaches, many policymakers worldwide are turning to the military for answers (for example, ref. 4). A leading policy in the toolkit is to replicate the core idea of hot-spot policing — targeting high-crime areas — but with military patrols instead of police. Military policing is a common practice in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is making its way to other regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia. There are several potential advantages. For instance, the equipment used by soldiers is more lethal and should induce a stronger deterrent effect; however, the latest evidence suggests that providing police with military equipment (an intermediate solution) does not work5. The accountability devices of the military may be more stringent than those of the police. Because so many cities struggle with crime and seem to have few practical policy answers, this innovation constitutes a low-cost and potentially powerful alternative.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Finance, Economics, and Government, Universidad EAFIT, Medellín, Colombia

    Santiago Tobon

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  1. Santiago Tobon
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Correspondence to Santiago Tobon.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Tobon, S. The perils of military policing. Nat Hum Behav 7, 843–844 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01606-9

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