How difficult is it to get on S.W.A.T.?

Question

What are the requirements for a S.W.A.T. Team and would a B.A. in criminal justice look good on a S.W.A.T. application?

Answer 1

A BA in CJ is always a good thing to have when applying for any position in the area of law enforcement.  However, you cannot just be some random person with a BA in CJ to become a member of the SWAT team.  You must first be a PO, who meets all the requirements.  Departments promote from within their department, or recruit from the academy a person who has demonstrated insurmountable skill in weapons, tactics.... and so forth.  I suggest you contact a recruiting officer in your area for more details.

Answer 2

Aside from obvious physical requirements, school qualifications, work experience, weapons training etc, keep in mind the massive psychological strain of a job like that. can you handle it? can you really keep your cool, and remain calm, collected and ready to follow orders as you are creeping around a house just a turn of the corner away from an armed nutjob holding someone hostage and firing at you? "RL" is a lot different than counter-strike...

Answer 3

Swat is a specialized unit. If you have previous military experience or just a good cop who has demonstrated the ability to deal in a SWAT type situation, you are then selected to join.

Answer 4

Not that difficult. On my dept you have to pass the physical and range qualification at a higher standard. But for most who want to get on they generally make it sooner or later.