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ABSTRACT
Despite extensive social science analysis of special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team deployment across the United States, the phenomenon in Canada has been overlooked. Drawing from data on deployments disclosed under freedom of information (FOI), legal decisions, and media data, our findings reveal that the use of SWAT teams have escalated in many major Canadian cities. Public police now deploy SWAT teams across Canada for routine law enforcement activities such as warrant work, traffic enforcement and other routine tasks, as well as responding to mental health crises and domestic disturbances. We then develop three sociological explanations for the rise and current use of SWAT teams in Canadian policing. We draw from sociologies of law, institutionalism and institutional effects, and field/capital. This paper concludes with reflections on the implications for public policing and avenues for future research on police militarisation in Canada and beyond.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 Swatting refers to when a vindictive person places a fake call to police about a high-risk situation in a home, and the SWAT team responds with guns drawn. In the USA, innocent civilians have been killed in their homes by SWAT members during such calls.