Police tactical unit

A GIGN assault column moving towards a target during training.

A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialised police unit trained and equipped to handle high‑risk situations that exceed the capabilities of ordinary law‑enforcement units. They are equipped with specialised weapons and protective gear and receive tactical training appropriate for high‑risk operations. Their duties include executing high‑risk search and arrest warrants; apprehending or neutralising armed or dangerous individuals; and responding to critical incidents such as shootouts, standoffs, hostage situations, and terrorist attacks.

Definition

A GSG 9 operator and helicopter pictured here in 1978 during a training exercise. Formed in 1972 after the Munich massacre at the Summer Olympics to combat terrorism, GSG 9 was the first dedicated European police tactical unit formed to combat terrorism.

Police tactical units are dedicated units composed of personnel selected and trained in tactical skillsets to carry out the responsibilities of the unit, and in use-of-force policies, including lethal force for counterterrorism. They are equipped with specialised police and military‑type equipment appropriate for high‑risk operations. Some units employ specialised combat assault dogs handled by trained personnel. PTU personnel may also be trained in crisis negotiation.

A police tactical unit can be part of either a police force under the authority of civilian officials, or a gendarmerie-style force under the authority of civilian officials (interior ministry) or a defence ministry that may have formal military status. Other government agencies, depending on the country, may also maintain specialised units with similar roles, training, and equipment, such as border guards, coast guards, customs, or corrections.

In the United States, police tactical units are known by the generic term SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team; the term originated from the Los Angeles Police Department SWAT formed in 1967. In Australia, the federal government uses the term police tactical group. The European Union uses the term special intervention unit for national counterterrorist PTUs.

Characteristics

Members of an FBI SWAT team advancing on a mock aircraft during a hijacking training exercise at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi

Police tactical units share several characteristics with military special forces units, including organisational structure, selective recruitment, intensive tactical training, specialised equipment, and operational methods. Like many military special forces units, they are generally not gender‑diverse, and female operators remain uncommon.

In certain counterterrorism operations—particularly hostage rescue—there can be significant convergence between police tactical units and military special forces units in terms of roles, tactics, and levels of force employed. Outside such contexts, however, their roles differ markedly: military special forces units may employ the maximum permissible force against enemy combatants, whereas police tactical units are required to use only the minimum force necessary to subdue suspects and are expected to prioritise negotiation and de‑escalation.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Some academic literature from North America uses the term "police paramilitary unit" (PPU) to describe police tactical units.
  2. ↑ Earlier in the United States in 1964, the Philadelphia Police Department had formed the Special Weapons and Tactics Squad.

References

  1. ↑ Alvaro 2000, p. 3.
  2. ↑ Alvaro, Sam (2000). Tactical law enforcement in Canada; an exploratory survey of Canadian police agencies (Thesis). Carleton University. p. 1,37,51-52. ISBN 978-0-612-48419-1. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (2017). Active Armed Offender Guidelines for Crowded Places (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-925593-97-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Rantatalo, Oscar (2013). Sensemaking and organising in the policing of high risk situations: focusing the Swedish Police National Counter-Terrorist Unit (PDF) (Thesis). Umeå: Department of Education, Umeå University. p. 15,32. ISBN 978-91-7459-699-1. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  5. ↑ Alvaro 2000, p. 99-103.
  6. ↑ NTOA 2018, p. 10.
  7. ↑ Alvaro 2000, p. 39-40.
  8. ↑ Neville 2017, pp. 5, 35.
  9. ↑ NTOA (April 2018). "Tactical Response and Operations Standard for Law Enforcement Agencies" (PDF). p. 12,34,38. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  10. ↑ NTOA 2018, p. 45.
  11. ↑ Neville, Leigh (2017). European Counter-Terrorist Units 1972-2017. Elite 220. Illustrated by Adam Hook. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-4728-2527-8.
  12. ↑ NTOA 2018, p. 35.
  13. 1 2 Alvaro 2000, p. 40.
  14. ↑ Lutterbeck, Derek (2013). The Paradox of Gendarmeries: Between Expansion, Demilitarization and Dissolution (PDF). SSR PAPER 8. Geneva: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). p. 7. ISBN 978-92-9222-286-4. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  15. ↑ Alvaro 2000, p. 44.
  16. ↑ Rantatalo 2013, p. 15.
  17. ↑ Alvaro 2000, p. 72.
  18. ↑ Alvaro 2000, p. 27-28.
  19. ↑ Roth, Mitchel P. (2001). Historical Dictionary of Law Enforcement. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 333. ISBN 0313305609.
  20. ↑ On the improvement of cooperation between the special intervention units of the Member States of the European Union in crisis situations (Council Decision 2008/617/JHA). 23 June 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  21. ↑ North Atlantic Treaty Organization (18 December 2020). NATO Glossary of Terms and Definitions (PDF) (in English and French). Vol. AAP-06 (2020 ed.). Brussels: NATO Standardization Agency. p. 119. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2021.
  22. ↑ Alexander, John B (July 2010). "4: Comparison between SOF and Law Enforcement Agencies". Convergence: Special Operations Forces and Civilian Law Enforcement (Report). JSOU report 10-6. MacDill Air Force Base, Florida: Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) Press. pp. 48–62. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021.
  23. ↑ Dahle, Thorvald O. (March 2015). "Women and SWAT: Making Entry into Police Tactical Teams" (PDF). Law Enforcement Executive Forum. 15 (1). Macomb, Illinois: Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Executive Institute: 21,25. ISSN 1552-9908. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2017.
  24. ↑ Turnley, Jessica Glicken; Stewart, Dona J.; Rubright, Rich; Quirin, Jason (June 2014). Special Operations Forces Mixed-Gender Elite Teams (PDF). William Knarr (Project Leader). MacDill Air Force Base, Florida: Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) Press. pp. 11, 85–86. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2020.
  25. ↑ Watkin, Kenneth (2016). Fighting at the Legal Boundaries: Controlling the Use of Force in Contemporary Conflict. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-19-045797-6.
  26. ↑ Newburn, Tim; Neyroud, Peter (2013). Dictionary of Policing. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-84392-287-2.
  27. ↑ Weber, Diane Cecilia (1999). Warrior Cops: The Ominous Growth of Paramilitarism in American Police Departments (PDF). Cato Briefing Papers No. 50. Washington: Cato Institute. p. 3. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  28. ↑ Rantatalo 2013, p. 23.

Further reading