LAPD Swat Team
The concept of special weapons and tactic teams originated in the late 1960's as a
response to several sniping incidents against civilians and police forces throughout the
U.S. The most notable incident being the Texas Tower Massacre. During this time Los
Angeles experienced many problems of it's own. Escalated violence toward police and
civilians became all too common. Realizing that an effective response to these dangerous
situations were virtually non-existent, LAPD officer John Nelson presented the special
weapons and tactics concept to Darryl F. Gates, a young police inspector. Inspector
Gates approved the concept and the formation of a small group of highly disciplined
offices utilizing special weapons and tactics to cope with the new level of violence and
unusual assaults. The first SWAT unit consisted of fifteen, four man teams. The members
were volunteers from the various ranks of patrol and police assignments who had various
military training. In 1971, SWAT was recognized as a full time unit with the Metropolitan
Division. The Metropolitan Division of the known as the tactical unit of the LAPD, was
organized into 'A', 'B', and 'C' platoon, and was given the designation of 'D' platoon,
and at the same time formally adopted the acronym SWAT. SWAT stands for Special
Weapons and Tactics. Due to it's high level of training and success rate, LAPD SWAT is
considered to be the preeminent SWAT team in North America. SWAT regularly trains
with various police and military agencies, sharing their knowledge and honoring their
skills.
STRUCTURE
SWAT, officially recognized as LAPD 'D' platoon, is comprised of 60 officers, 6
sergeants, and 1 Lieutenant. The Lieutenant, refereed...
... middle of paper ...
...l front, back, and over the
shoulder coverage, as well as side torso protection. Inside each front panel is a large
pocket into which an extra plate is inserted as the vest is donned. As the front of the vest
is overlapped and zipped up, the plate is centered on the torso. The entry plate is body
contoured and constructed from a polyethylene fiber made by Allied Signal. Entry plate
weight is 4.4 pounds and will defeat 7.62 x 51mm NA TO full metal jacket ammunition
and similar rounds such as .223 and 7.62 x 39mm, as well as soft nosed expanding rifle
bullets. Overall weight of the Cover Six Plus is 16 pounds.
Balaclava/Tactical Gloves: The head and gauntlet style gloves warn by 'D' platoon are
made of fire retardant material nomex. Their wear offers protection to the officers
extremities when encountering sharp objects, chemical and gas explosions.
There are virtually an unlimited amount of aspects about police work that places them in harm’s way every day. The debate still continues over whether policing is a craft or profession. As stated in Law Enforcement in the United States by James A. Conser, “A craft usually involves the development of skills that are generally learned through experience, not in a classroom (Conser, 2011, p.216). Conser also states, “the following are the typical characteristic identified criteria of profession: extensive preparation through education and training, a specific and specialized body of knowledge, a code of ethics (Conser, 2011, p.215).
...vival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) level C+, and helicopter overwater survival training (Dunker School) just to name a few of the school these soldiers will go through. They use special equipped helicopters that include AH-6, MH-6, MH-60’s, and MH-47 helicopters. Soldiers in this unit also have to maintain a SECERT security clearance.
The Marine Raider Battalions developed an elite fighting force within an elite service. There still exist today the elite units of the Marine Corps, such as the Force Reconnaissance Battalions and the Special Operation Capable Units, but the Raider Battalions were the first specialist of the amphibious doctrines. Although the amphibious landing has been preformed throughout the ages since the invention of the water-bearing vessels, the Marine Raider Battalions tested and perfected this combat operation. Although the two Raider Commanders had very different views on how to prepare their marine...
In Rise of the Warrior Cop, Radley Balko views the steady militarization of the police in the U.S. A detailed history of a dangerous trend, Mr. Balko's book tracks police militarization over the past 50 years, a period that not coincidentally corresponds with the rise of SWAT teams but on purpose. Established in the early 1960s and where mostly used in the bigger cities and used against heavily armed and dangerous criminals. Today SWAT teams are almost common in every city in the country. 80% of towns between 25,000 and 50,000 also have their own SWAT teams. Its not li...
The conception of the idea to establish a special elite unit in the Army and the subsequent implementation took place between March and July 1942. This period was characterized by extensive research by a British scientist and extensive analysis by United States commanders. The special unit started their training in Montana at Fort William Henry Harrison before moving to other areas such as Camp Bradford and Fort Ethan Allen in Vermont. The forces lasted for the period between July 1942 and December 19441. The unit had three battalions made up of Canadian and American volunteers who engaged in intensive training in skiing, parachuting, amphibian warfare, mountain and demolition operations among other specialized skills. The elite forces were distinct, from their bi-national uniform to their specialized fighting skills. The soldiers engaged in war in Italy and Southern France before their disbandment late 19441.
Some departments in recent history have had a very tough time with corruption. There is West Valley Police Department, Baltimore Police Department, and Atlanta Police Department just to name a few. Yet none can beat the corruption of the Rampart division of the Los Angeles Police Department. Recently, there have been over 140 lawsuits for over $125 million dollars paid out for wrongful arrests, false testimonies, thefts, bad reports and murders. The LAPD should have seen this one coming.
“The LAPD struggled during the first dozen years of its existence, going through sixteen chiefs of police and developing an unsavory reputation for corruption and brutality.” (Escobar, 1999, p. 27) From the notorious “Bloody Christmas, to the infamous Rodney King scandal, the Los Angeles Police department has been at the forefront of unprofessionalism for the past few decades and has been deemed one of the most corrupt police departments in the country. Greed, race and politics played a role in the development of the LAPD. “To Protect and To Serve”, this is the motto of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD, 2014). Professionalism has changed throughout the decades within this police department. A majority of it has been designed around incidences
Birzer, Michael L., and Cliff Roberson. Police field operations: theory meets practice. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2008. Print.
Police: Breakdowns that allowed corruption are still uncorrected, study finds. The chief concedes that mediocrity became a way of life at all levels of the department. The Los Angeles Police Department failed time and again to take steps that might have headed off the worst corruption scandal in its history, according to a sweeping self-indictment prepared by the department's own leaders. In a letter accompanying the long-awaited Board of Inquiry report into the corruption centered in the department's Rampart Division, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks called the scandal a "life-altering experience for the Los Angeles Police Department" in which corrupt officers took advantage of lax supervision to carry out criminal acts. "We as an organization provided the opportunity," Parks wrote.
Prior to the creation of the formal police academy, officers were taught using various methods that were not always effective or conducive to the work required of an officer. As a result, ill-equipped officers flooded the streets of nineteenth-century America, often unable to perform the primary duty of their job: protecting the public. The United States, inspired by England and other countries with better-developed public safety systems, desperately needed a method of ensuring safety for its people. The creation and evolution of the police academy defined what being a police officer entailed by teaching officers what is expected of them, not only job-requirement wise, but also morally and ethically. The Police Academy prepares an individual for the civil, educational, managerial, and everyday duties of police work while ensuring moral sturdiness and commitment to public service. By combining classroom lectures, CSI training, building search training, firearm training, and combative/defensive training, each officer that graduates the police academy is well prepared to handle every aspect of the work of a police officer.
The most significant change in personal weapons is most likely the controlled burst. The controlled burst is a system of sustained fire where bullets are fired in short, fast groupings of three. These three round bursts conserve ammunition and also give more effective fire for normal use. Another important development with the ammunition is the creation and use of caseless ammunition, which eliminates the need to eject a cartridge. Plastic ammunition has been designed primarily for training but could be effective for terrorists. If a gun made up completely of non-metallic parts, then plastic bullets would be desirable in evading detection at airports. While some terrorists employ the use of assault rifles, light-machine guns, sub-machine guns and even shotguns, the pistol is still the most popular. Revolvers and self-loading pistols are used because of their size and ease of concealment. Pistols can be carried in a pocket or a hip or shoulder holster, leaving both hands free until it becomes necessary to draw the gun.
"Police and Detectives." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. .
most important thing to wear. It protects your head in case of a direct impact like airbags protect your head from hitting the dash in a car. There are many brands and sizes to choose from. The most reliable and well known is a company called "Bauer." The size usually depends on the shape and measurements of your head. The next impo...
American policing originated from early English law and is profoundly influenced by its history. Early law enforcement in England took on two forms of policing, one of which heavily influenced modern policing and it is known as the watch (Potter, 2013). The watch consisted, at first, of volunteers which had to patrol the streets for any kind of disorder including crime and fire. After men attempted to get out of volunteering by paying others, it became a paid professional position (Walker & Katz, 2012). The three eras of policing in America are shaped by these early ideas and practices of law enforcement. Throughout time, sufficient improvements and advancements have been made from the political era to the professional era and finally the community era which attempts to eliminate corruption, hire qualified officers and create an overall effective law enforcement system.
shield for Achilles to wield. The shield itself is made of five layers of metal