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'''SWAT''' is an [[acronym]] for '''S'''pecial '''W'''eapons '''a'''nd '''T'''actics, and is the term that describes a [[paramilitary]] unit of a city [[police]] force or a county [[sheriff]]'s department in the [[United States]].
The nearest equivalents to SWAT in countries other than the United States are the national [[gendarmerie]]s in various countries in [[Europe]], including the [[France|French]] Gendarmerie and the [[Italy|Italian]] [[carabinieri]]. The key difference is that SWAT is a specialized team of police officers or sheriff's deputies trained in military weapons and infantry assault tactics, while still answerable to a local police chief or sheriff. European gendarmeries exist as separate national police forces.
[[Category:Government]]
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:Law enforcement]]