S.W.A.T.

Special Weapons & Tactics (S.W.A.T.)

The S.W.A.T. team is a part-time unit comprised of designated law enforcement officers who are specifically trained and equipped to respond to critical incidents exceeding first-responder's capabilities. These critical incidents include hostage-taking, barricaded suspects, terrorist acts, serving high-risk search and arrest warrants, and other high-risk incidents.

The Brea Police Department S.W.A.T. Team is an element of a regional S.W.A.T. team known as the North County Special Weapons and Tactics Team (N.C.S.). The N.C.S. encompasses S.W.A.T. teams from Brea, Fullerton, La Habra, La Palma, Placentia, and the CSUF Police Department.

The team was established to pool personnel and equipment resources while providing specialized support in handling critical field operations where intense negotiations or special tactical deployment methods are required. The N.C.S. has many specialized units within the team including crisis negotiators, tactical medics, and tactical dispatchers.

The N.C.S. is a part-time team, meaning the officers have other primary responsibilities. The officers come from every division of the Police Department including Patrol, Traffic, and Investigations.

Each agency represented in the N.C.S. has primary responsibility for selecting personnel and equipping its team.

Members

The S.W.A.T. team is made up of police officers who have undergone intensive specialized training, including a rigorous bi-annual physical fitness qualification. These officers are highly qualified to respond to high risk, dangerous situations that necessitate more than just a routine police response. The team is called upon at various times to serve high-risk search and arrest warrants and to deal with armed and barricaded suspects.