When El Salvador emerged from more than a decade of civil war in the 1990s, the United States helped set up a training program for the country's new National Civilian Police as part of the U.N.-monitored peace process. It was one of several U.S. projects over the past two decades aimed at steering other countries, from Kosovo to Guatemala to Liberia, toward demilitarizing their security forces and making police accountable.

Watching the news of the past two days, a lot of Americans might think that some of the lessons the United States has tried to impart abroad should be brought back home. Thousands across the country are protesting the Nov. 24 decision by a St. Louis County grand jury not to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer accused of killing unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. It's clear the United States could do more to address both the enmity between communities of color and police that protesters feel contributed to Brown's death and the aggressive, militarized police response to the protests.

A 2010 USAID manual directs U.S. officers working to improve policing abroad to consider a series of questions: Does the police agency have a use of force policy in effect? Are armed forces held legally accountable for their actions when performing law enforcement or public safety functions? Do [legal] bodies aggressively review and act upon complaints of misconduct? While aimed at police systems overseas, these questions have been asked with renewed urgency in the United States since Brown's death, which has become the latest symbol of racial injustice in a country where young black men are 21 times more likely to be shot dead by police than young white men.

There's a similar disconnect between practice at home and U.S. promotion abroad when it comes to "community policing," the idea that police should be representative of and accountable to the communities where they work. "Community policing programs reduce crime by making citizens partners in law enforcement," the USAID manual states, emphasizing the importance of making minorities and other disadvantaged groups a part of the justice system. In 1999, the Clinton White House touted its work helping create "opportunities in the new multi-ethnic Kosovo Police Service and the Kosovo Protection Corps." Butas of August of this year, 50 of the Ferguson Police Department's 53 members were white, in a two-thirds black community -- not exactly the ratio U.S. advisers advocated for Kosovo.

As demonstrators again filled the streets of Ferguson, police brought outthe St. Louis County Police Department's armored military vehicles that became infamous during August's protests as examples of the militarization of American police forces. Since the 1990s, the Pentagon's 1033 Program has distributed surplus military equipment to police departments around the country, meaning that Ferguson police are equipped with military-grade assault rifles and backed up by hulking armored vehicles.

Meanwhile, the stated goal of U.S. police training programs in Central America has been to demilitarize civilian police forces and weaken their ties to paramilitary groups and the police forces involved in extrajudicial killings under past regimes. A USAID-sponsored paper from 2000applauded the fact that "side arms more appropriate for the minimal use of force replaced long firearms in the hands of everyday patrol agents in most of the region's police forces."

For all their ostensibly good intentions, U.S.-led police reform efforts abroad haven't always shown positive results. In 2011, international relations researcher Cornelius Friesendorf argued that the United States' rush to equip the Afghan National Police to respond to security threats led to a more militarized security force, undermining communities' trust that police would not arbitrarily use violence against them. A 2010 Oxfam report argued that U.S. security sector reform efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo "appear to focus single-mindedly on the training programs, without a political strategy -- closely coordinated with other donors -- to convince the Congolese government to enact top-down institutional reform."

Security sector reform isn't easy anywhere, whether it's Central America in the 1990s or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 2000s. But the United States government seems to have plenty of advice to share around the world. It's too bad the same tips about community policing, accountability, and de-militarization aren't being passed on to Missouri.    

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/11/26/the_us_could_learn_a_lot_about_domestic_policing_from_what_it_preaches_abroad?utm_content=buffer1c5ac&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

They burned down the whole f**king city supporting a thug, who robbed the store and attacked a police officer on duty. And you talking about human rights or whatever the f**k? It's not your fault to support the protesters. It's the media that have been portraying this story as "a white police officer killing an innocent black kid." Double standard? My ass!!!

More cities should have burned. When the entire system, including the justic system is against you, the only means you have is violence. Real change comes from street. Gather some knowledge about revolutions that took place all over the world and you will understand why and what drives people to violence.

One police doesn't make all the police bad and one system can not make all the system bad....so if you are saying violence is only the way u need to go and drink some kool aid....the changes comes from free hugs...watch this..

http://www.epictimes.com/2014/11/photo-portland-police-officer-and-protester-share-tearful-hug/

:)

One tearful hug does not mean crap when you are comparing with numerous cases of wrongful death and sheer abuse of power.

Giordano, name me one real change that has occured in a society for justic that was not stirred up from the street. The real power lies in people's hand. But americans are soo sheepish that they would not have the courage to defend their liberty and fight for social injustice from the street. And that is the real problem in the US today. Because if you think the change comes from elections, you are wrong. In the US only big corporations win elections, the candidates are just puppets. If a big corporation or a billionaire donates milliions to a political candidate, do you think it or he does not have a vested interest?
It's about time that people open their eyes and realise that the american dream is not for everyone.

big corporation always doesn't win election....obama is an example....john mc cain and mitt romney had big corporations on hand than obama did.

and you talking about violence to bring change doesn't make any sense....gandhi did it non violently and so did Martin luther King.

illumnati lol....you better watch more alex jones....Glenn beck already proved that he was a psycho.....come to the real world....yes the boy was killed but again one police doesn't make other police bad.... for the justice i leave it to the court.... and FYI the head of justice dept is black.

This Illuminati theorists are people who dont have job to do and stay home thinking 1000s of different ways. That makes them little bit screwed on brain and see the societies same way.
I stoped reading all those shits when this stupid nepali khusket came with idea saying there was another shooter on Sandy Hook and Colorado. And US govt is involved on Boston Bombing. I will rather read post by Umes of Mysansar rather then this crap.

Gandhi's movement was not entirely non-violent. Read a little bit more about Indian rebellion that took place before Gandhi came to the scene.

Facebook this is not a theory. I shared this article because it makes sense. US went to quell uprisings in many middle eastern countries. They preach human right and justice abroad but their way of quelling protests in their own country showed numerous breach of human right.

Just because a handful of opportunistic people start to loot and vandalize, it does not undermine the bigger more powerful volume of people who are exercising their right to protest against a flawed legal process.

Giordano looks like you watch those alex jones and glen beck since you brought it up. I don't watch them.

"the boy was killed but again one police doesn't make other police bad"

You must be living in a bubble. There have been uncountable deaths on hand of police using excessive force on unarmed people. Even in this case, there were 12 shots that were fired at an unarmed person. Think about it. 12 shots fired at an unarmed person.

Read this for only things that happened in August http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/09/police-killings-since-michael-brown_n_5788412.html

The Michael Brown incident sparked a protest all over the US, not only because it's race issue. It is due to excessive use of lethal force by the police.

Some of you may brush it aside but the next time you come in contact with the law, I hope you don't learn about it the hard way. Some change has to be made to make the police more accountable.

I respect the people who work as police. Who put their lives in danger to protect the common citizen. But at the same time there are some policemen who are a little bit too trigger happy and resort to deadly lethal force when there could have been another way. That is what needs to be stressed out of this whole ordeal.

LOL @ illumnati....the post u post are mostly inspired by alex jones. I used to watch him before but later on found he was a psycho too....police are being killed too by thugs in their line of duty....so u better go and watch alex jones again.....

@hurray....Gandhi movement wasn't like the violence you are talking about...you are talking about burning the whole city down....are you even in your mind?..do u think that will help resolve the issue....don't get stuck on nepali mentality coz this is US and people are smarter than you..... better drink some kool aid....

Only the privileged class are smart enough and leveraged enough to ask for the change peacefully. The underprivileged have no choice but to resort to roughness. At the same time it is quite normal for the thieves and the scammers to exploit the situation and cash in by looting, raping, and robbing.

This movement is more than whether the black kids death was justified or not, this is more about blacks resenting the inequality and the ongoing injustice since they got freed.

Gioradano, you don't seem to get my point. I said that the real change comes from the street. Opressed people should get on the street and protest massively. And like Sidster said, breaking and burning buildings and public property is considered colleteral damage in such movements. And some dis-honest groups do tend to profit from it. There's no doubt. This is not nepalese mentality. May be you see this kind of things happenning more often in Nepal, but that's because in Nepal you have tons and tons of groups facing social injustice. But the underlying fact is, you do not get what you want by staying in the house, trying to rally lawers, writing letters to your congressmen etc etc. Let me say it again, when the entire system is and has been against you, including the justic system, what other means do you have than resorting to armed movement to attract attention of officials that are in charge of bringing change? Do you think in Nepal we got our democracy in 1990s by staying at home sun bathing and eating peanuts on our terrace?

@ hurray,

we still don't have democracy in Nepal. but again u saying burning down the cities doesn't make any sense to me at all

Giordana I told you I dont watch alex jones. Its possible that my thought resemble his but dont try to act as if two people cant have similar thoughts. They may have some similar thoughts but everything wouldn't be the same. Please get that into yout head before you start repeating your stubbornness.