<P> By the time of the SLA shootout, SWAT teams had reorganized into six 10 - man teams, each team being divided further into two five - man units, called elements . An element consisted of an element leader, two assaulters, a scout, and a rear - guard . The normal complement of weapons was a sniper rifle (a . 243 - caliber bolt - action, based on the ordnance expended by officers at the shootout), two . 223 - caliber semi-automatic rifles, and two shotguns . SWAT officers also carried their service revolvers in shoulder holsters . Standard gear included a first aid kit, gloves, and a gas mask . At a time when officers were usually issued six - shot revolvers and shotguns, it was a significant change to have police armed with semi-automatic rifles . The encounter with the heavily armed Symbionese Liberation Army, however, sparked a trend towards SWAT teams being issued body armor and automatic weapons of various types . </P> <P> A report issued by the LAPD after the SLA shootout offers one of the few firsthand accounts by the department regarding SWAT history, operations, and organization . On page 100 of the report, the Department cites four trends which prompted the development of SWAT . These included riots such as the Watts Riots, which in the 1960s forced the LAPD and other police departments into tactical situations for which they were ill - prepared; the emergence of snipers as a challenge to civil order; political assassinations; and the threat of urban guerrilla warfare by militant groups . "The unpredictability of the sniper and his anticipation of normal police response increase the chances of death or injury to officers . To commit conventionally trained officers to a confrontation with a guerrilla - trained militant group would likely result in a high number of casualties among the officers and the escape of the guerrillas ." To deal with these under conditions of urban violence, the LAPD formed SWAT, notes the report . The report states on page 109, "The purpose of SWAT is to provide protection, support, security, firepower, and rescue to police operations in high personal risk situations where specialized tactics are necessary to minimize casualties ." </P> <P> In 1981 U.S. Congress passed the Military Cooperation with Law Enforcement Act, giving police access to military intelligence, infrastructure, and weaponry in the fight against drugs . Reagan subsequently declared drugs to be a threat to U.S. national security . In 1988 the Reagan administration encouraged Congress to create the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Program . The program modified existing federal aid structures to local police, making it easier to transfer money and equipment to fight the War on Drugs . Police forces also received increased assistance from the DEA . The money resulted in the creation of many narcotics task forces, and SWAT teams became an important part of these forces . </P> <P> In 1972, paramilitary police units launched a few hundred drug raids annually within the United States . In the early 1980s, SWAT drug raid numbers increased to 3000 annually, and by 1996, 30,000 raids annually . During the 1990s, according to The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin, weapons donations from the Pentagon greatly bolstered the number of SWAT teams and the extent of their operations . The paper reported that the military transferred nearly 100,000 pieces of military equipment to Wisconsin police departments in the 1990s . </P>

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