In 1964, the Philadelphia Police Department, in response to an alarming increase in bank robberies, established a one-hundred-man Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Squad. The purpose of this unit was to react quickly and decisively to bank robberies while they were in progress, by utilizing a large number of specially trained officers who had at their disposal a great amount of firepower. The tactic worked.
Shortly after the successes of the Philadelphia SWAT team were publicized, other departments formed similar special units, most notably the Los Angeles Police Department (SWAT). Many different names were given to these teams: Special Reaction Team (SRT) by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Metro Unique Situation Team (MUST) by the Nashville Police Department, and hostage rescue team (HRT) by others, to name a few.
The formation of SWAT teams by major police departments marked a departure from traditional police service and the advent of a new method of crisis management by modern police executives. Many rank-and-file police officers were slow to see these teams as the most ideal element of a department to correctly handle certain high-risk situations. But police executives were quick to recognize that the use of highly motivated, specially armed, specially trained, and exceptionally well-led reams of officers, when faced with heavily armed criminals or media happenings such as hostage incidents, usually reduced civil liability and complemented public relations when the incident was resolved successfully in favor of the police with little or no loss of life. By the end of the 1970s, all major departments across the United States had formed SWAT teams, and the rank-and-file police officers of America had accepted them as an integral part of police service.
Staffing
SWAT teams are staffed by regular police officers selected for the teams after meeting certain stringent criteria. SWAT team members are required to have a normal psychological profile, with emphasis on the ability to work well as a member of a team. Without question, each member must be physically fit and not have any limiting physical characteristics, such as hearing loss or extreme myopia. Team members must be able to react well under stress and conditions of extreme fatigue. They must be capable of following orders without question and at the same time demonstrating the ability to lead others when called upon.
Equipment
Because SWAT teams are required to tackle situations that demand unorthodox entry into structures under extremely adverse conditions, they must be adept in the use of special equipment such as ropes and rap-pelling paraphernalia, which they can use to enter a structure from a rooftop or from a hovering helicopter. They must be able to use explosives to blast doors, walls, or roofs in order to make a quick and safe entry.
The SWAT team uniform must provide all-weather protection. It must be able to be worn at night without making the officer an easily identifiable target. It must be loose fitting in order to allow the officer freedom of movement. Many teams have opted for a ski mask type of wool cap, which can be rolled up during hot days and let down at night for concealment. Team members usually wear military-type boots. In recent years, the outfitting of SWAT teams has become a fast-rising business in America, with companies developing an exotic assortment of uniforms, SWAT weaponry, and even SWAT vehicles.
The weapons of a SWAT team are dictated by tactical necessity. In assaults on defended properties, teams use automatic rifles, usually stockless and short barreled and having a high rate of fire. A shotgun is usually brought along on every operation to provide long-range delivery for tear gas or smoke. Teams employ sharpshooters against snipers and to cover the movement of other team members. Sharpshooters use high-powered, long-range rifles, usually fitted with high-resolution scopes that can be used day or night. As a rule, teams issue automatic pistols to each member as personal, close-in weapons, because of their rapid fire and quick and easy reload capabilities.
Other equipment possessed by teams includes gas masks for each member, starlight scopes for night vision, flashlights attached to weaponry for nighttime target acquisition, bulletproof vests, SWAT vests that fit around the body and are capable of carrying everything from extra ammunition to water canteens, leg holsters for pistols to allow for quick draw, and high-band, voice-activated, silent listening radios for instant interteam communication that may be employed even while a team member is under fire. Last, teams have special SWAT vehicles, usually vans, that are brought to the scenes of incidents and provide command post and logistic center functions.
Training
Because SWAT teams are required to perform the most hazardous of tasks, such as freeing hostages, it is of paramount importance that they be well trained. Each team should have a clearly defined yearly training program dictated by its potential missions. Types of training required for teams include the use of explosives for controlled entry into structures; live-fire target recognition and acquisition; day and night movement procedures in all types of terrain and in all types of weather; entry procedures for all types of structures; envelopment techniques; room- and building-clearing techniques; rappelling from buildings, cliffs, and helicopters; use of flash-bang and smoke grenades to cover movement and facilitate entries; physical conditioning; hand-to-hand combat; radio and nonverbal communication procedures in daylight and darkness; quick-kill techniques; antisniper and sniper techniques; small-unit organizational concepts; anti-ambush procedures; chemical agent use and recognition; cover, camouflage, and concealment use; movement under cover of fire; and small-unit leadership.
Team Characteristics
SWAT teams are characterized by several features that other police units do not possess. Regardless of their size (most teams average twelve members), teams are usually organized into two distinct groups: the assault group, whose function it is to enter and clear structures, and the cover group, whose function it is to cover the assault group and protect team perimeters. SWAT teams have clearly defined chains of command that flow from the team leader directly to the head of the department, thus eliminating intermediate commanding officers whose interference during critical calls could be disastrous. SWAT teams are on twenty-four-hour call and have a clearly defined call-up procedure that automatically goes into effect whenever a department dispatcher receives a potential SWAT call.
Uses
SWAT teams are used in any of five incidents: (1) In hostage-related incidents, although negotiation is the ideal method of resolution, negotiations sometimes break down and the crisis has to be resolved tactically. (2) Sniper situations pose a great threat to innocent civilians and must be resolved quickly and decisively. (3) Barricaded suspects often have to be overcome or arrested in order for public tranquility to return to a neighborhood or commercial area. (4) Sometimes other police units call upon SWAT teams to aid in the arrest of subjects who are heavily armed. Usually a team will have the upper hand in firepower. (5) Teams are usually called upon to provide antisniper protection for dignitaries.
Evolution
Since the advent of transnational terrorism with the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, major countries have developed special units designed for counterterrorist duties. Great Britain utilizes the SAS (Strategic Air Service), West Germany its GSG-9 (Border Police Unit 9), France the Groupe D’Intervention Gendarmerie Nationale (National Police Intervention Group), and the United States formed its Delta Force.
All of these units are in the most fundamental sense large SWAT teams. They are direct descendants of the Philadelphia Police Department’s one-hundred-man unit. They receive similar training, wear the same uniforms, use the same weapons, equipment, and organization, and have similar missions. The only real difference is that they operate on a much larger scale, with a wider jurisdiction.
Most jurisdictions throughout America have formed SWAT teams to handle hazardous situations. Teams with as few as five members function extremely well with adequate training. With the rising concern over domestic terrorism, specially trained units such as SWAT teams have become a vital part of U.S. law enforcement.
