USA - ARMY Fast-Tracking Vets to Police Jobs

OFF THE WIRE
Greetings,
Have you been wondering why the police forces of major cities have been seemingly militarized? Well, maybe I can shed some light on that question. Back in the last decade, the Army partnered up with police forces of major cities around the USA to offer “potential placement” of trained candidates that completed Basic training and Advanced training. The job was never guaranteed that I know of, but it explains some of why so many police agencies have established a military footing since it was offered to everyone I talked to about it while in the service. And we’re talking hundreds!
When I joined the Army in 2004, I was offered a job with the Baltimore County Police Department as an incentive to join the military. The program is called “the Partnership for Youth Success program” OR “P.A.Y.S.” for short, and even though I was 24 at the time and hardly a “youth,” I was none the less offered this incentive. I remember distinctly the conversation I had with the recruiter because I did not want to be a cop, let alone in the worst part of Baltimore. Besides, I didn’t live anywhere near there! I asked him for a different job and he responded that police departments were the only ones offering jobs through that program, and it was up to me if I wanted it or not. As someone that was the subject of numerous abuses at the hands of the police, I discussed and declined the offer.
Moving forward to today, that offer to join the police through the PAYS program still haunts me since there seems to be an obvious militarization of police, over-use of swat raids, and other rampant abuses like treating Americans as Insurgents for merely having the want of a non-biased witness called a video camera. There’s nothing like getting your head kicked in for recording someone to really wake you up! I again turn your attention again to the PAYS program and it’s obvious stacking of the major metropolises’ police departments with wartime soldiers. I believe this program to be at least part of the problem here. It’s troubling to hear retired and old timer cops talking about how they’re concerned, as I am, about the level of abuses going on by police today. If you are too, then please do your own research and ask questions, because you need to look into this.
Below are some links, but first, remember there are several differences in the program now that didn’t apply when I was offered it, and I looked over my contract. Police jobs were the only thing offered to me and several others I talked to, and now the program has expanded to tech jobs.
Links:
Sample contract for the PAYS program (Note that when I joined, a college education was not a requirement): https://www.armypays.com/PDF/MOA.pdf
Pays program “partners” (Note how ALL of the police departments in this list are hot beds for questionable behaviors):
https://www.armypays.com/PDF/corplogosPartnersPrint.pdf
A link to the Houston Police Department PAYS program:
http://www.houstontx.gov/police/pdfs/ARMY_PaYS_08042010.pdf
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