Swat Teams: Explosive Face-offs With America's Deadliest Criminals

by Robert L. Snow

Overview

Ever since Charles Whitman gunned down over a dozen innocent people in 1966 from his perch atop the University of Texas clock tower, “SWAT team” has become a household word. In this compelling book, police veteran Robert L. Snow takes us into the midst of the nation's heroic SWAT teams, allowing us to eavesdrop on harrowing negotiations between killers and cops. He gives us a balanced look at what SWAT teams do right and what they do wrong and recommends ways to improve their tactics in future hostage situations. While he gives no-holds-barred analyses of such dire failures as Waco, he also celebrates SWAT's greatest triumphs—thousands of incidents in which no one was hurt. No policeman or citizen can afford to miss this harrowing yet hopeful look at society's main weapon against sudden terror.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738202624
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	12/24/1999
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	318
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Captain Robert L. Snow is presently head of the Homicide Branch of the Indianapolis Police Department and has been a police officer in Indianapolis for over 30 years. During this time he has worked as a field officer, field sergeant, field lieutenant, field captain, Coordinator for the Field Training Officer Program, Commander of the Planning and Research Branch, Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Police, Police Department Executive Officer, and Captain of Detectives. He is the acclaimed author of STOPPING A STALKER; FAMILY ABUSE; SWAT TEAMS; and PROTECTING YOUR LIFE, HOME AND PROPERTY; and has contributed articles to a wide variety of publications, including Reader's Digest, the Writer, Action Digest, the National Enquirer, the Saint Magazine, Law and Order, and Police, among others. Captain Snow graduated summa cum laude from Indiana University with degrees in criminal justice and psychology. He lives with his wife Melanie, a narcotics detective, in Indianapolis.

Table of Contents

1.	Why Have a SWAT Team?	1
2.	Qualities and Selection of SWAT Team Members	19
3.	Snipers	35
4.	Intelligence and Planning	51
5.	Command Post Operations	71
6.	Discipline and Teamwork	81
7.	Equipment	99
8.	Training	123
9.	Perimeters and Security	145
10.	Hostages and Hostage Negotiations	157
11.	Site Assault	181
12.	Mobile Threats and Hijackings	203
13.	High-Risk Warrant Service	219
14.	Interagency Cooperation	233
15.	Some Failures of SWAT	249
16.	The Many Successes of SWAT	273
17.	The Future of SWAT	289
	References	293
	Index	297

Editorial Reviews

Special Weapons and Tactics teams were created in response to the Texas Tower massacre in 1966, when a rifleman in Austin shot 46 people, 15 fatally. They are now a feature of almost every big-city police force, made up of snipers, hostage negotiators and reconnaissance scouts. Indianapolis police officer Snow (Protecting Your Life, Home and Property) here covers aspects of SWAT work, discussing problems like coordinating intelligence in a command post, using psychologists in special cases and negotiating with hostage-takers. He lists the attributes of a good SWAT officer: he or she is a team player, emotionally stable, highly intelligent, physically strong and a crack shot. Snow stresses that a SWAT assault must have the elements of surprise, shock and violence and can be regarded a success if nobody is killed. In his informative volume, Snow presents dozens of instances from across the nation of triumphs and failures. Photos. (June)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Proceedings of the May 1995 workshop, presenting 52 papers by 92 authors and co-authors, with sections on composite connections, special connections, design methods, modeling of connections, frame behavior, cyclic response, design standards, state of practice, trends in Australia, and current research needs for connections in steel structures. Subjects include influence of structural frame behavior on joint design, seismic loading of moment end-plate connections, and finite element modeling of partially restrained beam- to-girder connections, with much material on semi-rigid connections, design code criteria, and connections for composite construction. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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