November 18, 2024
As of October 1, 2024, New Jersey’s Law Enforcement Use of Force Policy restricts the response to a barricaded individual call to only tactical teams meeting National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) Standards for a Tier 1 or 2 SWAT team. According to the NTOA, Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams have more personnel and greater capabilities when it comes to rescuing hostages and dealing with barricaded subjects.
According to the 2023 NTOA’s Tactical Response and Operations Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies police tactical team categories, there are four separate tiers of teams:
- Tier 1 SWAT Team
- Tier 2 SWAT Team
- Tier 3 Tactical Response Team
- Tier 4 Perimeter Control and Containment Team
These team levels are differentiated based on mission capabilities and “concepts and principles related to the organization, training, operational tactics, personnel management, and equipment of tactical law enforcement teams.”
New Jersey’s policy is one of the first of its kind in the US, and it’s designed to mitigate the unique dangers of confronting barricaded individuals. It also raises some interesting practical questions related to NTOA’s 64 pages of standards: Does your tactical team meet NTOA’s SWAT Team standards? Are limitations on the use of force based on your team’s classification coming to your jurisdiction? Are these and similar standards considered best practices that will minimize your team’s liability?
The legal landscape for law enforcement is constantly changing, and at Tomahawk, our teams are here to help you answer these questions as they arise. We can also help your team with training, equipment, and policy development to meet NTOA standards and nationally-promoted best practices.