Swat Teams

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)