The History and Purpose of S.W.A.T.
SWAT. The acronym invokes so many thoughts - danger, fighting crime, shootings, heavily artillery, TV, movies and more. The reality of SWAT is that it is all of that and more. When the acronym is fully expanded it translates to "special weapons and tactics" or as it was originally developed, "special weapons assault team". SWAT is a specialized, elite police unit trained to execute dangerous and specific operations that basic and even intermediate police training is not intended to handle. Commonly, many assume from knowledge gained from TV and movies about SWAT. These assumptions are often skewed because what happens on real missions is not always as entertaining as what is seen on the silver screen. The history, purpose, requirements, training, equipment, and tactics used during missions are all separate and important aspects in understanding SWAT.
To completely understand why SWAT teams were developed, one must look at this history of swat, where it began, why it began, and how it progressed to be where modern teams are today. The first SWAT squad was established in Delano, California, where the local department was having difficulties containing the uprisings of local farm workers. This squad was established by training the entire department in crowd control along with sniper and anti-sniper tactics.
At the same time, Los Angeles police units were experiencing difficulties in handling situations in which riots and snipers were terrorizing basic police units. In response to these difficulties, LAPD officer John Nelson presented the concept of a squad which was specially trained to handle such situations to Inspector Darryl F. Gates. Gates approved the concept of a "highly disciplined" ...
... middle of paper ...
....). About the SORT Unit. Delaware State Police Special Operations Response Team. Retrieved April 1, 2006. From http://www.state.de.us/dsp/sort.htm.
2. (n.d.). SWAT/Tactical Teams. SWAT/Tactical Teams. Retrieved March 29, 2006. http://www.fema.gov/preparedness/resources/law_enforcement/swat_tactical_teams.htm
3. (n.d.). History of S.W.A.T. Official Website of the Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved April 3, 2006. http://www.lapdonline.org/metropolitan_division/content_basic_view/849
4. (n.d.). S.W.A.T. Team Overview and History. The Albeline Police Department. Retrieved April 4, 2006. http://www.abilenepolice.com/swat/history.html
5. (n.d.). SWAT. Wickpedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 5, 2006. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWAT
6. (n.d.). SWAT Team. Bay County's Sheriff's Department. Retrieved April 2, 2006. http://www.bayso.org/swat.htm.
Lt. Wells was a member of the Law Enforcement Stops and Safety Subcommittee. This committee is volunteer-based and works under the financial support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It is affiliated with the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
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...
During the seventies in New Jersey created a program that could change life in society. This program occurred only in twenty-eight cities. Government and public officials were excited about this concept. Police officials were not so much. Foot patrol made officers walk in sleet and snow. Assigned foot patrol was a way of punishment for officers. State funding of foot patrol shut the mouths of some people. Silence stopped after the “Police Foundation”(Kelling) put foot patrol to the actual test. To contrary belief this rattled some arguments in the community an...
When formed by legislation in 1935, the Colorado State Patrol was created to “…promote safety, protect human life and preserve the highways of this state by the courteous and strict enforcement of the laws and regulations of this state relating to highways and the traffic on such highways” (CRS 24-33.5-201). Originally named the “Courtesy Patrol,” over the last 76 years the Colorado State Patrol has evolved into a comprehensive and complex law enforcement agency, without forgetting its original mission. Through the dedication to its members, both past and present, distinguished professional standards, and industry-leading technical competence, the Colorado State Patrol has stayed true to its traditions while taking on changing law enforcement challenges.
When political anarchy, social injustices, and crime end up leading to civil depravities that go against the foundation of democracy, society depends on the police to come in and keep the peace, while attempting to restore the order. These officers are asked to pursue criminals in vehicles, and on foot, repeatedly expose themselves to the dangers of the crimes, and remain calm while being under pressure at all moments on the job, and even off duty. Being an officer of the law takes a special person
In conclusion, police agencies in the United States have mainly developed based on policing in England with regards to nature and structure. Notably, this development has also been fueled by changes that have taken place in the society from time to time. Currently, there are more than 15,000 police agencies in America in different jurisdictions and different roles.
Birzer, Michael L., and Cliff Roberson. Police field operations: theory meets practice. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2008. Print.
You have to train so that they know you qualify for the job. You have to be in shape and know how to act in different situations. The agents receive classroom and Web-based instruction in subjects including law, investigative practices, forensics, behavioral science, and ethics. To get an experience of what it will be like, they will have you practice and act out common scenarios. The trainees will conduct a mock-investigation where they will interview suspects, find evidence, and provide testimony in court. The new agents will also receive proper training in firearms, defensive techniques, working undercover, tactical driving, and
By teaching police officers alternatives to shooting to kill, they experience higher risks with their lives. Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly, said, “It would be "very difficult" to train officers to shoot to wound” (Jacobo, 2016). Police officers are viewed as “predators” and “an occupying army” rather than allies (Valey, 2016). This is a perception that needs to change because it counteracts the mission of police officers
Bureau of Justice Assistance, Police Executive Research Forum. (2012). Compstat: Its Origins, Evolution, and Future in Law Enforcement Agencies. Retrieved from http://policeforum.org/library/compstat/Compstat.pdf
Bulletproof clothing is really made up of seven layers of bullet-resistant webbing. The three types of the layers are the carrier, Kevlar and plastic film. The body armor just looks like a very strong net. Kevlar is strong, but they also make bulletproof with another material is called vectran. Vectran is 5 to 10 times stronger than steel. They have another rapidly emerging fiber its called spider silk. The resulting of spider silk is biosteel. A strand of biosteel can be up to 20 times stronger than a strand of steel. To have a hard body armor, you have to make I out of thick ceramic or metal plates. It’s extremely hard enough for it to deflect bullets or other weapons. When the bullet makes contact with the material of bulletproof. A police officer or military will wear this type of protection when it is a high risk of attack. The swat team would definitely wear this type of protection too. But when they are on an everyday mission they would mainly wear soft body armor. This would give these types of people the faith in them ...
As taught in the lectures, it is impossible for police officers to win the war against crime without bending the rules, however when the rules are bent so much that it starts to violate t...
For years police corruption has been a major problem in American society but where is the line between moral and unethical police corruption, many modern movies address this vary issue. Some films portray how types of police corruption can have a positive influence on society, while others show the dark side of police corruption. Many law enforcement agents join the criminal justice with the basic idea of “justice for all,” however, most of them do not realize that the nice guy doesn’t always win. Even though there are vast amounts of movies which specifically address police corruption we will use three main movies for our argument today, mostly LA Confidential, however, also Training Day.
A common style of police leadership is a more bureaucratic style where the leader manages “by the book”, everything must be done in accordance with pre-written policies and procedures (Cordner & Scarborough, 2010). When a certain problem or concern isn’t covered by the book the leader refers to the next level for a decision. This style removes the ability of the leader to manage and forces a strict accordance to the “book”. This style can be very effective when dealing with dangerous situations which can be a common occurrence in police work.
Federal Bureau of Investigaiton. (2010, December 22). Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January –June, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjs/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s./2010/preliminary-crime-in-the-us-2009