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I don't agree that the existence of SWAT teams is a problem. Other countries without aggressive police presence also have something comparable for situations th

by notus 7y ago

I don't agree that the existence of SWAT teams is a problem. Other countries without aggressive police presence also have something comparable for situations that are out of the norm. It's more the amount of SWAT teams we have and police being trained to be afraid of everything, for example during police academy they are played recordings of officers being murdered to instill this fear. Large cities do still need something like SWAT for situations beyond the abilities of your average police officer. Some small town in Kansas definitely does not need a SWAT team because nothing ever happens there.

rednixion 7y ago
Based on my experience of living in Mississippi: rural towns do not have swat teams(or a police force besides the county sheriff's office and maybe Highway Patrol if they are nearby), the suburbs also rarely have a swat team however every local police force or sheriff's office will have some "sharing" agreement with whatever the closest city is that allows them request swat if a situation requires it. As for "nothing happens there" part, domestic violence and it's ability to turn into a hostage situation is usually why a swat team is used and is sadly a common issue; dumb bomb threat pranks to get school closed also appears to be an efficient way to get black trucks to show up in the middle of nowhere. It's also worth mentioning when comparing US police to other countries that gun ownership should be a factor. Hard to compare what the appropriate fear level should be if the number of firearms encountered during day to day stops differ by magnitudes. Even in rural state like Mississippi that has very liberal gun carry laws, police still seized at least 4500 guns last year; the number of guns encountered in homes/cars/concealed carry that didn't warrant seizure would have a couple of extra zeros if it was tracked.

by notus 7y ago

rednixion 7y ago

Based on my experience of living in Mississippi: rural towns do not have swat teams(or a police force besides the county sheriff's office and maybe Highway Patrol if they are nearby), the suburbs also rarely have a swat team however every local police force or sheriff's office will have some "sharing" agreement with whatever the closest city is that allows them request swat if a situation requires it. As for "nothing happens there" part, domestic violence and it's ability to turn into a hostage situation is usually why a swat team is used and is sadly a common issue; dumb bomb threat pranks to get school closed also appears to be an efficient way to get black trucks to show up in the middle of nowhere. It's also worth mentioning when comparing US police to other countries that gun ownership should be a factor. Hard to compare what the appropriate fear level should be if the number of firearms encountered during day to day stops differ by magnitudes. Even in rural state like Mississippi that has very liberal gun carry laws, police still seized at least 4500 guns last year; the number of guns encountered in homes/cars/concealed carry that didn't warrant seizure would have a couple of extra zeros if it was tracked.