Since their creation in the 1960’s police Special Weapons and Tactics teams (SWAT) have been both applauded and criticized. It seems clear that highly trained and specially equipped police units capable of more effectively dealing with dangerous situations like barricaded and armed suspects have been beneficial. However, the number of American SWAT teams has grown dramatically with police agencies large and small creating these specialized tactical units. Unfortunately, many communities have seen their police departments create SWAT teams they can’t afford to staff, train or equip in a responsible manner. There are many tragic stories of poorly trained and supervised SWAT teams conducting operations that had tragic - and preventable - outcomes.

This post adds to the conversation about the broad adoption of SWAT teams. It is an attempt to help policymakers answer the questions “Should we create/maintain our own SWAT team?” To access the discussion click here.