SWAT

Swat is a place name that has over 2000 years of history but recently this name is adopted by other entities as well. For example, SWAT (1975 American action crime TV series), SWAT (2003 film based on the series), and SWAT 2017 TV series (based on the 1975 television series and 2003 feature film). Also, the Special Weapons And Tactics in the USA and worldwide is often call SWAT.

Swat Meaning

The meaning of Swat is to hit, slap, or smack something hard especially with a sudden swing of your hand or an object. The word “SWAT” has a similar meaning In both British and American English and that is “powerful or crushing blow” when used as a verb or noun.

Although SWAT is mostly used as a verb, noun, and abbreviation in the English dictionary, it is also referred to as the name of a geographical location.

Denotation of SWAT

SWAT is commonly denoted by three forms i.e. in uppercase (SWAT), lowercase (Swat), and composition of letters separated by dots (S.W.A.T) to represent an abbreviation. All these denotations are mostly used in a different context, however, these words are sometimes interchangeably used. We will discuss some examples here in more detail.

SWAT Television Series

SWAT is a television action and crime drama series originally produced and broadcasted in 1975 in the USA. The new SWAT series i.e. Swat Season 1 (2017 – 2018), Swat Season 2 (2018 – 2019), Swat Season 3 (2019 – 2020), Swat Season 4 (2020 – 2021) are produced by CBS Studios.

Key Factors About Swat TV Series

Swat Season 1 (2017 – 2018)

Swat season 1 was first aired on November 2, 2017. Season 1 has a total of 22 episodes that were aired until May 17, 2018. Summary of 22 episodes combining Swat season 1 follows:

Summary of Swat Season 1

Swat Season 2 (2018 – 2019)

Swat season 2 was first aired on September 27, 2018. Season 2 has a total of 23 episodes that were aired until May 16, 2019. Summary of 23 episodes combining Swat season 2 follows:

Summary of Swat Season 2

Swat Season 3 (2019 – 2020)

Swat season 3 was first aired on October 2, 2019. Season 2 has a total of 21 episodes that were aired until May 20, 2020. Summary of 21 episodes combining Swat season 3 follows:

Summary of Swat Season 3

Swat Season 4 (2020 – 2021)

Swat season 4 was first aired on November 11, 2020. The total number of episodes of season 4 are yet to be confirmed at the end of 2021. Summary of the episodes of Swat season 4 that already went on-air is the following:

Summary of Swat Season 4

Swat Team (Special Weapons and Tactics)

Swat Team (Special Weapons and Tactics) is the most elite unit within the law enforcement agencies or police force, used to tackle and combat situations beyond the capability of conventional forces. The elite Swat Team receives military-level special training and weapons ensuring high-quality accuracy. The officers in the swat team are also well known for planning reliable tactics when responding to high-risk exceptional situations.

Swat Team

The History of the Swat Team

Some disagreement exists concerning the catalyst that created SWAT teams in American policing, but it is generally accepted that the pivotal event occurred on August 1, 1966, at the University of Texas at Austin. On that date, an ex-Marine Corps rifleman climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of the university’s landmark clock tower and, over the course of 90 minutes, shot 47 people – 17 of whom died.

Swat Team

This was not the first mass murder in the United States, but it was unique in a number of ways. Law enforcement didn’t arrive at the University of Texas Tower after the fact to conduct a homicide investigation. They drove into an ongoing 90-minute barrage of deadly accurate rifle fire; during which time, the suspect graphically demonstrated how ill-trained, ill-equipped, and ill-prepared police agencies in the United States were to deal with a proficient and determined adversary.

During this same general time frame, many of our nation’s urban areas were being set ablaze by rioters, and emergency personnel responding to the scene were often fired upon by snipers. Law enforcement agencies nationwide quickly recognized that these incidents were beyond the skills, training, and equipment of the officers in the field. As a result, some departments began forming teams that were committed to handling “special” or unusually high-risk events, with their primary focus at this stage being a viable response to sniper situations.

One of the first agencies to formally establish a SWAT team capability was the Los Angeles Police Department and their “station defense teams” of 1967. Initially, these part-time teams were comprised of 15 four-man cadres, consisting of individuals drawn from various units within the department. The members all had prior military experience and were given monthly training consistent with the tasks they were likely to face, including sniper situations and providing security for police facilities during periods of civil unrest.

These teams were assigned full-time to the Metropolitan Division in 1971 when it was determined the part-time status had a negative impact on rapid response to callout situations. Then as now, being able to rapidly respond to a critical incident was recognized as being a key component in the life safety equation. The Los Angeles Police Department issued a report following their early 1970s interaction with the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), and cited four trends that prompted the development of their team:

• The Watts Riots, which forced department members into tactical situations for which they were ill-prepared
• The emergence of snipers as a challenge to civil order
• The appearance of the political assassin • The threat of urban guerrilla warfare by militant groups

The report concluded that the purpose of the SWAT team was, “to provide protection, support, security, firepower, and rescue to police operations in high-risk situations, where specialized tactics are necessary to minimize casualties.”

The number of SWAT teams in the United States has steadily increased since then, with most of the units being structurally and operationally impacted by the political events at the time and to a lesser degree the years that followed.

High-profile shootouts with the Black Panther Party and SLA may have catapulted SWAT team onto the front pages of the newspaper, but it was the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act (DAPCA) of 1970 and President Richard M. Nixon that laid the foundation for most of the SWAT team work that has occurred over the 40 years that followed.

The DAPCA under Title II specifically authorized “no-knock” search warrants in cases (such as drug investigations) where physical evidence might reasonably be destroyed, and it did this at the same time the president was identifying drug abuse as a serious threat to national security and officially declaring the “war on drugs.”

SWAT teams by virtue of their training, equipment, and general availability found themselves uniquely qualified to fill the foot soldier role in this battle.

The public policy focus on controlled substance abuse was shifting from treatment to enforcement, during a time in which heavily armed drug distribution networks began appearing in urban, and not so urban, areas of the country. Teams that were originally created for extraordinary response to dangerous situations (such as snipers) operationally evolved in many cases into the front line of U.S. drug law enforcement strategy.

Duties and Responsibilities of Swat Team

Many SWAT teams today have a unit mandate or policy statement that provides a general rationale for their position and purpose. Common themes include, “to provide protection and safety for innocent civilians and police personnel while reducing the probability of death or serious injury to persons involved in a high-risk incident.” Broad statements such as this rarely serve a definitive purpose.

Swat Team

Likewise, they offer little in the way of describing the actual tasks that a SWAT team performs, which are as varied and diverse as the agencies that create and support them.

As outlined previously, the original SWAT team concept was for counter-sniper and extremely high-risk situations related to public disorder and militant groups. Over the years’ SWAT team evolved and now takes on operational roles that differ greatly from that of the early teams.

This evolutionary process has not been without criticism or controversy, with some in the public and academic domains challenging what they describe as the inappropriate expansion of SWAT team from its original “high-risk – specialized action” role, to more traditional police activity, involving mostly drug law enforcement.

The report from one survey of 690 police agencies serving populations in excess of 50,000 suggested that SWAT team use had increased 538 percent since 1980, with 75 percent of the activities devoted to serving drug warrants.

Most SWAT teams in the United States claim a list of their common “duties and responsibilities,” which are included in, but not limited to, the situations outlined below. It is important to note that based on the number of things listed that rarely if ever occur, the list might be more accurately described as the things for which the team has taken the responsibility to plan, prepare, train, and equip.

• Terrorist incidents
• Hostage rescue
• Barricaded suspect/subject incidents
• High-risk warrant service
• Interaction with dangerous, mentally ill subjects
• Dignitary escort/protection
• High-risk prisoner security/transport
• High-risk narcotics operations independent of warrant service, including officer safety/security during drug buys; buy/bust operations; vehicle assault/arrest scenarios; and high-risk surveillance of drug fields, labs, and suspects.
• General high-risk surveillance (armed robbery stakeouts, etc.)

The IACP provides training for SWAT team commanders and line operators, and, during class discussions on actual operations, anecdotal evidence has revealed that SWAT teams in the United States spend most of their time performing the following two functions and training and preparing for the third.

Abbreviation of SWAT (Acronyms)

Abbreviations of SWAT in Police and Law Enforcement:

SWAT Special Weapons and Tactics (also known as SWAT Team):

Abbreviations of SWAT in Government and Military:

Special Weapons and Tactics (team)
Special Weapons Attack Team (original name; now usually seen as Special Weapons And Tactics)
Subjective Workload Assessment Technique
Stress Wave Analysis Technique
Submillimeter Wave Advanced Technology
Strategic Weapons and Tactics (TV show)
Satellite, Wideband, and Telemetry (systems)
Surface Water Ambient Toxics Monitoring Program (Maine)
System-Wide Analysis Team
Surface water assessment team
Satellite-Based Worldwide Availability Tool
Solid Waste Assessment Team
Squad Weapons Analytical Trainer
Service Weapons Acceptability Test
Surface Weapons Against Torpedoes
Switch Assembly Test

Abbreviations of SWAT in Technology

Samba Web Administration Tool
Skilled With Advanced Tools (software development)
Solutions with Advanced Technologies (Cisco)
Software Analysis and Testing (or Quality Assurance)
Skilled Workers with Advanced Tools
Satellite-Based Worldwide Availability Tool
Software Wireless Access Tandem

Abbreviations of SWAT in Science and Medicine

Scandinavian Workshop on Algorithm Theory
Soil and Water Assessment Tool (river basin model)
Stress Wave Analysis Technique
Solid Waste Assessment Test
Severe Wastewater Analysis Test (coating performance evaluation; Tnemec)
Satellite, Wideband, and Telemetry (systems)
Surface Water Ambient Toxics Monitoring Program (Maine)
Short Wavelength Adaptive Technology
Secure Wire Access Terminal
Strengths, Weaknesses, Achievements & Threats (assessment)
Subsea Well Abandonment Tool
Satellite-Based Worldwide Availability Tool
Solid Waste Assessment Team
Strengths, Weakness, Advantages & Threats (assessment)

Abbreviations of SWAT in Business

Samba Web Administration Tool
Severe Wastewater Analysis Test (coating performance evaluation; Tnemec)
Sexy without Actually Trying (clothing line; Swathearts)
Sell What’s Available Today
Solutions with Advanced Technologies (Cisco)
Softball with an Attitude (softball team; Philadelphia, PA)

Abbreviations of SWAT in Organizations

Scandinavian Workshop on Algorithm Theory
Students Working Against Tobacco
Soldiers with a Testimony (youth group; various locations)
South West Angels of Terror (roller derby team)
Students Working to Advance Technology
Soccer with Attitude
Special Weapons Attack Team (original name; now usually seen as Special Weapons And Tactics)
Students With A Testimony
Sex Workers’ Alliance of Toronto
Soul Winning and Training (Baptist church)
Soldiers with Apostolic Truth
Special Winning Attitude Team
Seattle Washington Autoduel Team

Abbreviations of SWAT in Companies and Institutions

Students with a Target (student/police partnership program in Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Sisters With A Throttle (motorcycle club)
Servants with A Testimony
Swift Action Team
Students Winning Against Tobacco (Texas)
Soul Winning Attack Team (Fayetteville, GA)
Surface Water Ambient Toxics Monitoring Program (Maine)
SouthWest Airedale Terriers
Spiritual Warfare and Training (youth ministry)
Southwest Aquatics of Texas
Southwest Association of Trackers
Sanibel Water Attack Team (swimming)
Server, Workstation And Technology Group
Soul Winning Across Town
Scout Water Activity Team
Southwest Area Vocational-Technical (school)
Softball with an Attitude (softball team; Philadelphia, PA)
Saints With A Testimony (LDS church)
Special Warfare Assault Team (Call of Duty gaming clan)
Seeking Wisdom and Truth (Christianity)

Abbreviations of SWAT in Slang and Jargons

Soccer with Attitude
Symbolic, Written, Audio, Technical
Strategic Weapons and Tactics (TV show)
South West Alief Texas
Scientific Wild Ass Guess
Sell What’s Available Today
Sick Wild and Twisted (band)
Staff Without Adequate Training
Ship What’s Available Today
Seeds, Weeds, And Trash
Sticks With Ass-kicking Tactics
Special Warfare Assault Team (Call of Duty gaming clan)