Special Response Team

Many specialized units have been used throughout the history of policing.  The Shanghai Municipal Police formed "strike teams" in the 1920's that would be recognized as SWAT teams in today's terminology.  In the 1940's, "Lightning Squads" were organized to make raids against heavily armed criminals.

After several killings of law enforcement officers, many large cities were forced to look into tactical response plans.  The phrase "SWAT", which stands for "Special Weapons and Tactics", was coined by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1965 as a result of the riots in Watts.  Other departments soon followed suit.

The Barrett Township Police Department, recognizing the ever-increasing need for a specialized unit of highly trained and specially equipped police officers to respond to exceptionally dangerous situations, joined with the Pocono Township Police Department in 2003 to form an inter-departmental Special Response Team, or SRT.

The team, comprised of 8 officers, trains on a continuous basis, both in-house and with neighboring SRT teams.  The team members have attended training by both the National Tactical Officer's Association and the FBI.

Whether they go by the name SWAT, Special Response Team, or any of the other names they are known by, one factor remains the same - they stand ready to protect the community from the most dangerous elements of our society.

Please DO NOT post emergency messages to this website or email addresses.  This site and email addresses are NOT monitored for emergency messages. 

Please dial 911 for emergencies.

Please direct all technical questions or issues to the webmaster at btpd@ptd.net.

Copyright © 2006 Barrett Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania.