This photo-illustrated book describes the life of SWAT officers, including the work they do to catch dangerous criminals and free hostages. Describes what it takes to become a SWAT officer and includes real-life missions. The Q&A features throughout promote reader inquiry and critical thinking. Includes glossary, further resources, and index.

"Describes SWAT teams operating in the United States, including their history, gear, weapons, training, and missions"--

SWAT teams are special groups of police officers called in to handle difficult situations. If there’s a hostage crisis or a riot, a SWAT team is usually on the scene. The heroic people who’ve chosen a career as part of a SWAT team had to go through special training and use special skills in order to do their job. Readers learn about this career through manageable text, eye-catching fact boxes, and a detailed graphic organizer. They also see exciting photographs of SWAT teams hard at work. Real-world examples are also included to get readers interested in this career path.

Provides an introduction to police departments' special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams, including their history, organization, functions, responsibilities, weapons and equipment.

This book provides readers interested in the field of law enforcement with information they need to join a S.W.A.T. team, including how to craft a resume and how to give a quality interview.

This groundbreaking history of how American police forces have been militarized is now revised and updated. Newly added material brings the story through 2020, including analysis of the Ferguson protests, the Obama and Trump administrations, and the George Floyd protests. The last days of colonialism taught America’s revolutionaries that soldiers in the streets bring conflict and tyranny. As a result, our country has generally worked to keep the military out of law enforcement. But over the last two centuries, America’s cops have increasingly come to resemble ground troops. The consequences have been dire: the home is no longer a place of sanctuary, the Fourth Amendment has been gutted, and police today have been conditioned to see the citizens they serve as enemies. In Rise of the Warrior Cop, Balko shows how politicians’ ill-considered policies and relentless declarations of war against vague enemies like crime, drugs, and terror have blurred the distinction between cop and soldier. His fascinating, frightening narrative that spans from America’s earliest days through today shows how a creeping battlefield mentality has isolated and alienated American police officers and put them on a collision course with the values of a free society.