In the United States, a SWAT team is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to handle riot control or violent confrontations with criminals, the number and usage of SWAT teams increased in the 1980s and 1990s during the War on Drugs and later in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. In the United States by 2005, SWAT teams were deployed 50,000 times every year, almost 80% of the time to serve search warrants, most often for narcotics. By 2015 that number had increased to nearly 80,000 times a year. SWAT teams are increasingly equipped with military-type hardware and trained to deploy against threats of terrorism, for crowd control, hostage taking, and in situations beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement, sometimes deemed "high-risk".
The Connecticut State Police (CSP) is a division of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Connecticut, especially in areas not served by local police departments. The CSP currently has 940 troopers as of October 8, 2020 and is headquartered in Middletown, Connecticut. It is responsible for protecting the Governor of Connecticut, Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, and their families.
The Alaska State Troopers, officially the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST), is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Alaska State Troopers is a full-service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and criminal law enforcement. The Alaska State Troopers is also involved in apprehending fugitives as part of the Alaska Fugitive Task Force, an inter-agency collaborative of Alaska police departments that cooperates with police agencies throughout the United States and less commonly with Interpol in apprehending wanted men and women. Unlike many lower-48 states, Alaska troopers are both state troopers and game/wildlife enforcement officers.
Police vehicles in the United States and Canada are produced by several manufacturers and are available in three broad vehicle types: Police Pursuit Vehicles (PPV), Special Service Vehicles (SSV), and Special Service Package (SSP).
The Maryland State Police (MSP), officially the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP), is the official state police force of the U.S. state of Maryland. The Maryland State Police is headquartered at 1201 Reisterstown Road in the Pikesville CDP in unincorporated Baltimore County.
The Louisiana State Police is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is officially known in that organization as the Office of State Police.
The Virginia State Police, officially the Virginia Department of State Police, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, is the state police force for the U.S. state of Virginia. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles as an inspector and enforcer of highway laws. It is currently one of fourteen agencies within the Cabinet Secretariat of Public Safety, under the leadership of Secretary Brian Moran until his resignation in January, 2022. On January 18, 2018, Gary T. Settle was sworn in as Superintendent of the Virginia State Police. Colonel Settle replaced retiring Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, who had served since 2003.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) is a state-level law enforcement agency with a primary function of patrolling and enforcing state laws on Arizona highways. Director Heston Silbert was promoted from Deputy Director to Director in April 2020, upon the retirement of former Director Frank Milstead. Its headquarters are in Phoenix.
The Georgia State Patrol (GSP) was established in March 1937 in the U.S. state of Georgia and is a division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. It is the primary highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Georgia. Troopers operate primarily on the state’s Interstate systems conducting speed enforcement and interdicting drugs and other criminal activities. I-95 heading towards Savannah, Brunswick, and the state of Florida is a major location for GSP troopers due to the high volume of drugs and other criminal activity on that interstate. GSP troopers also investigate traffic crashes and enforce traffic and criminal laws on the state's roads.
The Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol is the highway patrol and acting state police agency for the U.S. state of Mississippi, and has law enforcement jurisdiction over the majority of the state.
The Anne Arundel County Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, serving a population of more than 564,195 per 2015 census estimates across 588 square miles (1,500 km2) of jurisdiction. The Department was created by an Act of the Maryland General Assembly in 1937, and originally consisted of a Chief of Police, three sergeants, and seventeen patrolmen.
The St. Louis County Police Department (SLCPD) is the primary and largest law enforcement agency serving St. Louis County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The current Chief of Police is Colonel Kenneth Gregory. According to the Charter of St. Louis County, the county police chief has all of the criminal law enforcement duties of the sheriff of St. Louis County, except for the operation of the St. Louis County Jail, which is handled by the St. Louis County Department of Justice Services (civilian), court bailiff and service of civil process. Court bailiff/civil process duties are provided by a court-appointed sheriff and his employees, none of whom have law enforcement powers.
The Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States, servicing a population of over 900,000 residents and visitors within 498 square miles (1,290 km2) of jurisdiction.
The Greenbelt Police Department (GPD) is the primary law enforcement agency servicing a population of 21,972 within 6.5 square miles (17 km2) of the city of Greenbelt.
The Laurel Police Department (LPD) is a nationally accredited, full-service police department servicing a population of 21,945 persons within 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2) of the municipality of Laurel in the U.S. state of Maryland in Prince Georges County. The LPD also maintains its own emergency communications (dispatch) and temporary prisoner detention facility.
The Aberdeen Police Department (APD) is the primary police agency servicing a population of 14,130 within 6.4 square miles (17 km2) of the municipality of Aberdeen, Maryland.
The Columbia Police Department (CPD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Columbia, Missouri in the United States. It protects a metropolitan population of nearly 122,000 with 174 sworn police officers.
The Omaha Police Department (OPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. The OPD is the largest law enforcement agency in the state of Nebraska.
The Hyattsville City Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency in Hyattsville, Maryland in the United States, serving a population of 17,557 residents and visitors within 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²) of the municipality. It is an internationally accredited, full-service department that maintains its own 24/7 Emergency Communications Section. Its current head is Chief Amal Awad.
The Havre De Grace Police Department (HDGPD) is a full-service agency servicing the incorporated municipality of Havre De Grace, Maryland. Established in 1981, HDGPD is Havre De Grace's primary law enforcement agency.
