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Despite the widespread adoption of community policing principles, law enforcement that uses the equipment, training, rhetoric and tactics of warfare is on the rise nationwide. According to a study by sociologist Peter Kraska, there are more than 30,000 heavily armed, militarily trained police units in the United States. His study found that the number of paramilitary police missions quadrupled between 1980 and 1995. According to a CBS News survey of SWAT encounters, police use of deadly force increased 34 percent between 1995 and 1998.
What is this growing militaristic trend in policing? Are cops turning communities into war zones?
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SWAT stands for "special weapons and tactics" team. These police squads go by various names: special response teams, emergency response or tactical operations units. They wear full urban camouflage battle-dress uniforms - ninja-style hoods, full-body armor, Kevlar helmets and lace-up combat boots. Retired Marines and Navy SEALs often train SWAT team members in using submachine guns, percussion grenades and battering rams to surprise and overwhelm the "enemy."
SWATs started in Los Angeles in the '60s, after police shoot-outs with the Black Panthers. Until recently they were largely non-controversial, specialized teams trained to deal with armed suspects holding hostages or terrorist incidents or barricading themselves in buildings. Now, for the most part, SWAT teams target minority communities and carry out drug raids.
Two Trends in Law Enforcement
There is a growing chasm between two trends in American law enforcement tactics: Trend one: "community policing," in which cops become part of neighborhoods to prevent small problems from turning into big ones without resorting to arrests or violence. Trend two: "zero-tolerance" iron-fisted attacks on all suspects, small-time as well as major.
Critics of SWAT policing fear it increases the dangers for cops and citizens alike. They contend that SWATs turn cops into soldiers who attack a community instead of becoming part of it and therefore lose the ability to help prevent and/or solve problems.
Supporters of SWAT raids counter that criminals have become so well-armed that police need special training and weapons to protect their own lives. Some proponents portray SWAT teams as a form of community policing, and use federal community-policing dollars to fund them.
New Haven's Approach
In 1990, under the guidance of former Police Chief Nicholas Pastore, New Haven's Police Department shifted its militaristic training philosophy to the current nonconfrontational approach.
When interviewed for the May 31, 1999 issue of The Nation, former New Haven Police Chief Nicholas Pastore said that in 1990, "SWAT was going out several times a week. We were in full military mode--worst type of policing in the world...The whole city was suffering trauma. We had politicians saying, 'the streets are a war zone, the police have taken over' and the police were driven by fear and adventure. SWAT was a big part of that."
Pastore began restructuring of the department, "The community policing broke down the anonymity between the people and the police. That creates accountability and cuts down on brutality. Brutality thrives on anonymity," says Pastore. "Why do you think the SWAT teams wear these ninja suits, cover their badges and wear executioner masks?"
Although New Haven does have a SWAT-type unit, Lieutenant Gerald Atunes claims, "We only had four tactical call-outs all of last year".
Pastore is now a research fellow at the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation in New Haven.