Role of SWAT in the context of USA

Role of SWAT in the context of USA

Findings

The role of SWAT teams has been immense in the context of American military system and their presence has been highly controversial. The article under analysis presents a clear picture of the role of SWAT and the level of violence they bring according to their nature of duty. It goes to show that any government agency not being utilized according to their natural role would have grave consequences for the whole country. Similar is the case with SWAT teams. In the early years, they had been used for violent situations, acts of terrorism, bank robberies and emergency situations. They had been known to perform exceedingly well when they were performing these duties. From the period of 1960-1980, they performed admirably in the face of these duties. With a change in their duties, they have been used for all the wrong reasons. For instance, the SWAT teams were later used for routine warrant service in drug cases and other forms of non violent criminal activities. Clearly these criminal activities are not the domain of SWAT teams since drug activities are of a non violent nature and SWAT teams have been known to use the same violent tactics which they used for violent activities. As a result, there have been greater implications with their new duties. The actions of paramilitary police are considered to be having a high degree of violence and a great deal of confrontation which leaves very little margin for error. There are grave risks associated in dealing with a suspect who is hazardous for the community (Balko, 2007).

Ethical Dilemmas

There are grave ethical consequences from the activities of SWAT teams as they are supplied with dangerous weapons like military grade weapons, armored personnel vehicles, ...