Hacker News Reader

Comment by tomohawk | Hacker News Reader

So many federal agencies have their own SWAT teams that they have a hard time keeping the teams qualified due to limited access to suitable firing ranges around DC. Agencies like EPA, USDA, and Dept of Education have SWAT.

Seems like only FBI should have SWAT.

View on HN

Eh, domain specific knowledge can be a huge win. I’d guess space swat team would be worried about rocket fuel, but usda might be worried about herbicide. I would be on board with an fbi run certification system. Organizations send agents for extra training.

I sorta like consistency though.

You don't call in SWAT for their domain specific knowledge though. You call them in to clear/pacify/etc a location.

If there's an active shooter hiding behind a hydrazine tank I would prefer a SWAT team trained in recognizing and handling different types of rocket fuel.

The funding required to train swat teams is high. A course I volunteered at was over a thousand per person not including the costs of sim-munitions, actual munitions, and experts in specific areas. That was the costs before the program decided to hire more trainers instead of utilizing volunteers. Funniest thing was though was how awful SWAT teams were against unprepared volunteers.

In the military system, this is handled differently, right? We don’t have National Park Service Army who are uniquely prepared to handle the terrain of National Parks. Or Treasury Air Force who protect the movement of large amounts of money.

Why can’t it be federal SWAT w/ Space Proficiency instead of NASA SWAT? Having a bunch of local agencies means they’ll have widely varying levels of training, rules of engagement, and abilities. That’s how you get cops playing dress-up flashbanging babies.

SWAT is a paramilitary, and its use should be as a last resort. Police departments, let alone agencies, really have no business having SWAT teams. Policing and SWAT are two very different things, and personnel should not be mixed between the two. If police need SWAT, they should have to call in SWAT from a special agency that has those teams.

The first SWAT team in the US was in LA, and if I remember correctly, it was so controversial that the police chief stepped down in protest. It's kind of unbelievable that SWAT is so accepted these days.

Makes for good TV, though.

DC would be especially hard for NASA.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com