Team Assessment Program
Purpose:
In order to continue to elevate the professionalism of the SWAT industry in the State of Texas, the Texas Tactical Police Officers Association (TTPOA) desires to provide SWAT Teams with constructive feedback on the status of their team/unit by conducting on-site assessments/inspection.
Process:
In order to conduct a SWAT Team assessment the following actions are necessary:
Determine team’s needs/purpose/goal(s) for assessment
Provide proposal as requested/needed
Determine composition of review/assessment team
Provide host agency contact with self-review material and member questionnaires
Establish scheduling of on-site visit(s)
Perform on-site assessment/interviews
Conduct out-brief of team designee prior to departure
Prepare comprehensive written report of assessment and provide to host team contact/designee
Perform follow-up, in-person assessment/findings with team designee(s) if requested/needed
Suggested Areas to be Evaluated:
Unit Management and command structure
Policies and Procedures
Personnel selection/retention/dismissal
Command and Control
Training
Equipment usage/selection/retention
Use of Force
Operational Deployment Procedures
Review of past call-outs
After action documentation
Other areas as requested by the host agency or as suggested by TTPOA
Comparitive Analysis:
When conducting SWAT Team assessments, the TTPOA will compare teams against the established benchmarks of the Association’s “SWAT Best Practices” document.
Assessment Team Duties and Responsibilities:
Determine team composition
Make contact with host agency representative and confirm contact names, phone numbers, etc
Provide written proposal
Request, receive and review the following from the host agency:
Copy of Policies and procedures
Copy of training
Call-out history to include sample after-action reports
Agency/Team demographic profile to include:
Type of agency (City/State/Federal), type of team, (full-time/part-time) agency structure, political environment, number of personnel assigned to team, agency and team organizational chart, team history and mile-stones, Command structure
Provide host agency with Self-Assessment Review reports
Team Member Questionnaire
Self-Assessment Checklist
Organization and Structure Checklist
Policy Checklist
Training Checklist
TEMS Checklist
Negotiations Checklist
Equipment Checklist
Prepare and submit correspondence scheduling the assessment visit(s) and finalize any logistical issues
Travel to host agency and conduct on-site assessment
Re-confirm agencies desired outcome of assessment
Take appropriate documentation during on-site to include photos, recordings, etc if necessary
Perform out-brief with host agency contact and provide approximate date of assessment completion
Return and prepare written assessment
Review assessment with TTPOA Board Member representative(s)
For more information, please contact our Training Coordinator, Chief David Flory.