Expert: Chris Wagoner - 1/2/2010

Question
Hello Commander Chris my name is Jacques I'm 16 and a softmore at pearland dawson. I run track played football freshman year. I'm also and N.J.R.O.T.C With means Navy Junior Reserve Officer Tranning Corps I Was wondering What are the the steps to be and swat team ? and What age can I attend to train for that postion ? But really what are my steps to becoming a swat team meamber and also my record is clean never tried drugs head always and the books and never been and ISS or detennion or wrote up my whole and tire record is clean Well thanks commander for asking my question and God Bless

Answer
Hi Jacques,

As you know you have to become a police officer first before you can become a SWAT/ SRT team member. And in order to be a police officer you have to keep a clean record and stay away from drugs. Also you should keep your driving record clean. A lot of people ask me questions on here about does this or that that I did as a teen disqualify me? And they are surprised when a lot of the time it does. What you do today can have far reaching affects on your future career choices, so please think ahead and be smart. I commend you for thinking of law enforcement as a career, but that means you have to start preparing now. By that I mean staying out of trouble and away from the wrong influences and such, which you say you are doing already, good for you!

You may want to consider looking into the Police Explorers. (http://www.myspace.com/houstonpoliceexplorers)They are a division of the Boy Scouts (they include girls!) that explores the criminal Justice/ Law Enforcement field. You get to train, work and assist police officers and police departments. Its a great way to gain knowledge and experience in the law enforcement field. I started at age 13 (age limit is 14 now) and did it for 5 years through the age of 18 (all through High School) and was hired as a Police Officer at the ripe old age of 18. http://www.learning-for-life.org/exploring/lawenforcement/

But you have to be a police officer first before you can become a SWAT member. As for SWAT. Many people are under the impression that being a SWAT team member is a full time position. In 99% of departments its not, it is what we call a secondary position. That means that you are a patrolman or detective or whatever position you are serving in and a SWAT member second. You carry all the SWAT gear in your assigned vehicle or its carried in the SWAT response vehicle, and when you are needed for a SWAT call out, they notify you and you respond to the location and become a SWAT team member.

That’s how secondary positions work. Other secondary positions in most places are teams like Dive team, Search and Rescue and others like these that are not needed all the time. SWAT teams require a lot of physical and mental discipline.

Before you can apply for any additional position you have to have been on the force a year in some places, more in others. Its up to the department.

Here is a list of just some of the additional units available in the police department:

Aviation Unit
Bicycle Patrol
Bomb Squad
Canine Unit
Child Protective Investigations Section
Contractor Licensing and Fraud Unit
Crime Scene and Crime Lab
Crime Stoppers Unit
DUI Unit
Economic Crime Unit
Evidence Unit
Marine Unit and Dive Team
Mass Transit Unit
Motorcycle Unit
Mounted Patrol
Regional Investigations Division
School Resource Deputy Unit
SWAT Team
Victim Services Unit

So you see there are many other specialty units you can get into.

Good luck and be safe. And I commend you for thinking of Law Enforcement as a career.