Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Dobrin, Adam L.

Abstract

This research study examines the American paramilitary units know as Special Weapons and Tactics. Throughout this thesis, the fundamental and foundational research on police paramilitary units is presented and discussed. Additionally, this paper focuses on trends of militarization in American policing. Mainly, these trends are identified by the tremendous rise and normalization of American paramilitary police units since the internal societal wars of the 1970s. In this study, research is presented on Special Weapons and Tactics team deployments in the state of Maryland. Four years of data are analyzed focusing on proactive search warrant crime deployments from 2010 through 2013. Several independent variables including, violent crime rates, property crime rates, vice type crime rates and the number of sworn law enforcement officers are examined. The most important finding of this study is the inverse relationship between proactive vice type arrests and the proactive search warrant SWAT team deployments.

Extent

96 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00004728

Format

pdf

Download

Share

COinS