Never the military, the moment it becomes necessary or acceptable to utilize the military as a police force, the people have already lost the war...
If people don't stand up to resolve the problems within their communities, even to the point of vigilante justice, they don't deserve a resolution. Further, to step in and intervene would leave such a monstrous imbalance of power that the void would likely be filled with a more potent threat in short order... Have we learned nothing from our wars in the Middle East?
The people are intended to act as a militia who serve the greater interests of the community...