Beijing Special Weapons and Tactics Unit

The Beijing Special Weapons and Tactics Unit[2] (Abbr.: SWAT; Chinese: 北京特警总队; also known as Beijing Special Police Force[3]) is a police tactical unit in the People's Republic of China that deals with incidents beyond the capabilities of normal patrol officers such as hostage situations, high risk warrants and riot control. The unit, along with the Snow Leopard Commando Unit, was tasked with many of the security responsibilities of the 2008 Summer Olympics.[4] It is reputed to be one of the most well-equipped and well-trained of all the SWAT/Special Police Units in the PRC.[5] It is under the control of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.[6]

Beijing Special Weapons and Tactics
北京特警总队
Official Beijing SWAT patch
Common nameBeijing SWAT
Agency overview
FormedDecember, 2005
Employees970 officers[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionBeijing, China
General nature
Specialist jurisdiction
  • Counter terrorism, special weapons operations. Protection of internationally protected persons, other very important persons, and-or of state property of significance.
Operational structure
Overviewed byMinistry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China
HeadquartersBeijing
Parent agencyBeijing Municipal Public Security Bureau
Notables
Significant operation
  • 2008 Beijing Olympics security duties

History

The Beijing SWAT unit and Snow Leopard Commando Unit were unveiled in a demonstration at the Beijing Police Academy on April 27, 2006 as part of a public relations effort to illustrate the capabilities of the People's Armed Police to deal with terrorism issues, protection of delegates, and to enforce law and order in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[7] The unit has in recent years received training and advice from Western counter-terrorist units On June 2008, the unit's 120-operator No. 1 Detachment was renamed Blue Sword Commando Unit.[2][8]

Role

Typically expected of a police tactical unit from any country will be the role of a tactical response team to handle hostage-rescue, high-risk warrants, VIP or dangerous criminal escort duties and sometimes counter-terrorism and anti-riot duties.[1][7][9]

Organization

The Beijing SWAT Unit is divided into sub-units consisting of but not limited to: a Helicopter Unit (飞虎队; nicknamed Flying Tigers), an Underwater Diving team (蛙人队; nicknamed Frogmen), female SWAT unit (女子特警队) and a Police Dog Unit (警犬队).[1][10]

Training

Recruits are selected from six colleges, including the Beijing Sports University and Chinese People's Public Security University.[1] Beijing SWAT operatives are trained, aside from combat tactics, in many subjects including English, etiquette, national culture, intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism and anti-riot, anti-nuclear biochemistry.[11] All SWAT operatives undergo psychiatric evaluation.[1]

Weapons and equipment

The unit is armed with a variety of domestically manufactured weapons such as QBZ-95 assault rifles and QSZ-92 pistols.

Vehicles

In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the local government has allocated CNY 280 million for the Beijing SWAT team to procure equipment for their operations,[11] some of which has gone into purchasing specialized vehicles for various duties. These vehicles included the Hummer H2.

See also

References
  1. Zhu Zhe (2006-12-08). "There's something special about this team". China Daily. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  2. MacLeod, Calum (2008-07-17). "Missiles, 100K police on China's Olympic team". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  3. "Photo: French experts train Beijing special police force". Official Beijing 2008 website. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  4. 北京警方展现2008奥运安保特警实力[组图] (in Chinese). News.cn. 2005-11-25. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  5. "Police unit goes public". Sina. 2006-09-10. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  6. 北京特警队进行技能演练 展示反恐防暴技术图 (in Chinese). News.cn. 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  7. "Beijing Sets up Special Police Unit for Olympics Security". Xinhua. 2005-12-21. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  8. "Ma Zhenchuan, Member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal CPC Committee and Director of MPSB Presents Flag to Beijing SWAT Blue Sword Commando". Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. Archived from the original on 2008-12-30. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  9. 北京特警举行实战特技演习 重演大巴劫案(组图) (in Chinese). Sohu.com. 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  10. 北京特警总队首次公开亮相 (in Chinese). Beijing News. 2006-09-01. Archived from the original on 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  11. 奥运雪狼：北京奥运反恐训练直击 (in Chinese). Sina. 2006-08-10. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
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