SWAT teams are increasingly equipped with military-type hardware and trained to deploy against threats of terrorism, for crowd control, hostage taking, and in situations beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement, sometimes deemed "high-risk".
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SWAT units are often equipped with automatic and specialized firearms, including submachine guns, assault rifles, riot shotguns, sniper rifles, riot guns, riot control agents, smoke, and stun grenades.
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The LAPD SWAT units were organized as "D Platoon" in the Metro division.
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SWAT teams engaged in a several-hour gun battle with the SLA; no police were wounded, but the six SLA members died in the conflict, which ended when the house caught fire and burned to the ground.
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The encounter with the heavily armed Symbionese Liberation Army sparked a trend towards SWAT teams being issued body armor and automatic weapons of various types.
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Whereas some have attributed this expansion to "mission creep" and the militarization of police, other scholars argue that increased SWAT policing is a response to real or perceived moral panics associated with fear of crime and terrorism.
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Den Heyer argues that while SWAT teams continue to be deployed to executing large numbers of drug warrants, this is a rational use of available police resources.
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Cato Institute analyst Radley Balko, in his book Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America, argues that increased SWAT raids have made no-knock raids, and danger to innocents and suspects, far greater.
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Relative infrequency of SWAT call-outs means these expensively trained and equipped officers cannot be left to sit around, waiting for an emergency.
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In many departments the officers are normally deployed to regular duties, but are available for SWAT calls via pagers, mobile phones, or radio transceivers.
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However, this unit provides a wide range of services in addition to SWAT functions, including search and rescue, and car accident vehicle extrication, normally handled by fire departments or other agencies.
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SWAT personnel wear similar utility uniforms to the tactical uniforms worn by the military.
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Originally SWAT units were equipped with WWII-surplus steel helmets, or even fiberglass motorcycle helmets.
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