SWAT Weapons and Vehicles - Research Paper Example

They are essential to carry out the assigned roles, and are used in varying tasks like breaking a door, to hitting a suspect with a hostage from 100 feet or maybe more. Besides the weapons, they use armored vehicles, which are strong enough to withstand small firearm bullets, and easy to maneuver aircrafts, which they use to quickly move during emergency situations. They use Armored Rescued Vehicles specifically for saving the civilians and officers whose lives get under threat by armed criminal attacks.

SWAT team’s array of armored vehicles (van, tactical tracks, buses, and cars) are designed by distinguished companies e.g. Ford, General Motors among others to fit their ability and movement in rescue and barricading operations. The helicopters also support their movement in critical emergency situations, as well as rescue in rescue missions. Most local helicopters may lack proper defense, but those of the federal SWAT teams are well designed and equipped for defense against assaults. The establishment of this specialized unit of law enforcement can be traced back to the period of social and group unrest and increasing threats against the US, which was during the last half of the 20th century.

Major political and social issues were bubbling up and in response to change, insecurity and threats became common with the increasing civil organizations’ riots and societies’ upheavals. The traditional police efforts felt inadequate to the increasing crime problem, which if mishandled, caused lots of destruction. Hence, the SWAT unit was developed to respond to such rare incidents, but it has widened its scope of operation over time. The Watts riots of 1965 in Los Angeles and the Whiteman sniper of 1966 in Texas called for more preparedness to such incidences from police departments, which influenced the formation of the 1st US SWAT unit (LAPD SWAT