SWAT

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Concept.png SWAT 
(violence,  social control,  Civil unrest/Preparation)Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
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The use of extreme violence by police, which has effectively normalised the use of military equipment and methods

SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) teams are US law enforcement units, which use specialized or military equipment and tactics.

Origins

SWAT teams were first created in the 1960s, to handle riot control or violent confrontations with criminals, the number and usage of SWAT teams increased in the 1980s and 1990s during the "War on Drugs". A watershed moment was the 1997 North Hollywood shootout, after which was decided that police would require stronger armament[1] when they were outgunned by two bank robbers with homemade body armor and illegally-modified, fully-automatic weapons.[2]

"Swatting"

"Swatting" is the US prank of anonymously informing against someone, to lead the police to send a SWAT team to their house.[3] This has grown in popularity for use against people who have live streaming cameras on the internet.[4] This can have fatal consequences.[5]

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References