The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau Counter-Terrorism and Special Police Unit ( zh, c=北京市公安局反恐怖和特警总队) referred to as Beijing SWAT ( zh, c=北京特警), is a

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...

within the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau that deals with incidents beyond the capabilities of normal patrol officers such as hostage situations, high risk warrants and riot control.

History

The Beijing SWAT and

Snow Leopard Commando Unit The Snow Leopard Commando Unit (SLCU, Simplified Chinese: 雪豹突击队), formerly known as the Snow Wolf Commando Unit (SWCU, Simplified Chinese: 雪狼突击队), is a People's Armed Police (PAP) tactical unit in the People's Republic of C ...

(SLCU) 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 Beijing Police to deal with

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

issues, protection of delegates, and to enforce law and order in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The unit has in recent years received training and advice from Western counter-terrorism units. In June 2008, the unit's 120-operator 1st Detachment was renamed Blue Sword (蓝剑, "Lán jiàn") Commando Unit.

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.

Organization

The Beijing SWAT is divided into sub-units consisting of but not limited to: an aviation unit (航空队), an underwater diving unit (潜水队), female SWAT unit (女子特警队) and a K9 unit (警犬队).

Training

Recruits are selected from six colleges, including the Beijing Sports University and Chinese People's Public Security University. Beijing SWAT members are trained, aside from combat tactics, in many subjects including English, etiquette, cultural dynamics, intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism and anti-riot and anti-nuclear and biological warfare tactics. All

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

operatives undergo psychiatric evaluation.

Weapons and equipment

It is reputed to be one of the most well-equipped and well-trained of all the tactical units of public security agencies in the PRC. The unit is armed with a variety of domestically manufactured weapons such as

QBZ-95 The Type 95 automatic rifle () or QBZ-95 is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured by Norinco, and issued since 1995 as the service rifle for the People's Liberation Army, People's Armed Police, and various law enforcement in China, la ...

assault rifles and

QSZ-92 The QSZ-92, sometimes known as the Type 92 (), is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Norinco. History The decision to develop a new pistol was made in 1987 to replace the Type 54 pistol, Type 54/64/77. Research and development started in 1992. ...

pistols. Vehicles In preparation for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, the local government allocated CNY 280 million for the Beijing SWAT to procure equipment for operations, some of which went into purchasing specialized vehicles for various duties including the Hummer H2 and APC's.

References