To Deploy or Not to Deploy? An Examination of the Correlates of Support for the Use of SWAT Teams

• In Event: Public Perceptions of Criminal Justice Policy and Practice

Abstract

As originally developed in the 1960s, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams were meant for dealing with dangerous situations such as barricades and heavily armed suspects. In the past few decades, their use has controversially expanded to patrol, monitoring protests, and most commonly, drug busts. This study will examine public support for the use of SWAT teams in a variety of situations based on data from an online opt-in survey. In addition to examining the level of support for the use of SWAT teams in different situations, it will also explore the correlates of support or opposition to using SWAT teams in each of those situations, such as a belief in police-military equivalency, symbolic racism, and conservative crime ideology.

Authors

• Omeed Ilchi, Purdue University Northwest

• Shamma Hickling, Wayne State University

• James Frank, University of Cincinnati