Why do swat team/ police special forces wear balaclava?

Question

I noticed that those crack teams of the various police forces wear balaclava when they are deployed. These are the good guys, why then are they hiding their faces?

Answer 1

One reason is that, sometimes, the SWAT team members are narcotics detectives.  Therefor, they may be working an undercover case that will involve some of the people who are involved in the particular bust.  Another reason is that most of the balaclava hoods are made of a material known as NOMEX.  This is a fire retardant material that is usually worn by firefighters.  Sometimes, suspects will throw numerous things at officers during a raid.  Some of these items may have been set on fire by the suspects.  The NOMEX balaclava will aid in the prevention of the officer's faces being burned.

Answer 2

So no one knows exactly who they are....saftey reasons......

plus, its help them keep their pretty faces pretty!

Answer 3

Partialy to protect their identities and mostly as safety feature as most are in fact fire retardant, similiar to the material used in Naval fire protection uniforms.

Answer 4

Sometimes these are undercover agents, it helps with complaints when ever one looks alike and you can't identify one individual, protection, if gas is deployed...the water vapor created by your breath creates a barrier that helps protect against chemical agents/gas.

Answer 5

I don't know, armies wears balcalava too.

That's like asking why do FBI or detectives wear suits?

Answer 6

First let us define what is balaclava in the dictionary:

Main Entry: bal·a·cla·va  

Pronunciation: \ˌba-lə-ˈklä-və, -ˈkla-\

Function: noun

Etymology: Balaclava, Crimea, site of a British encampment during the Crimean War

Date: 1941

: a knit cap for the head and neck —called also balaclava helmet.

So OBVIOUSLY  a helmet not necessarily hiding their faces, I suppose these are the one being wore by the the police on their head and neck not necessarily to hid their face with people's demonstration. With so much bottles and other hard object throw at them and hitting with other demonstration with clubs and wooden stick they should protect themselves esp. the head which is very vulnerable and the neck. SWAT do now wear them but either paint their faces or wear the usual helmet and goggles for tear gas operation and mask not this one.

THE ONE WHO HID THEIR FACES I saw are cops from Italian special squad when arresting suspected MAFIA bosses and groups, why you may ask they have to wear bonnet over their faces is that they have to keep their identity a secret esp. arresting big bosses when they can be the next target by this hoodlums either in the streets or putting the police family in peril.

Answer 7

Sometimes the bad guys was retribution. It is a safety measure when having to be in public later. They can also provide a measure of safety when chemicals and who knows what is thrown at officers during a raid.

Answer 8

two reasons:

intimidation factor and to protect their identities.

Answer 9

They cannot be seen.  HIgh risk job and could be known and suffer consequences later on.