We all know what a safe and peaceful community Saco is to live in and visit. Part of that is because of our residents who help to make Saco a place others want to come to and part of it is because of the hard work and dedication of the members of the Saco Police Department. Many citizens are surprised when they learn that the Saco Police Department has a Special Services Team-formerly S.W.A.T (Special Weapons And Tactics). The S.W.A.T. concept first surfaced in the 1960's and was designed to provide a ready response to situations that were beyond the capabilities of normally equipped and trained personnel. Virtually all large police departments have their own version of a Special Services Team. But what do smaller communities do when they see a need to have additional protection in place? The answer surprisingly seems to be a more of a buzz word today than it was more than twenty years ago when it was approved- "consolidation".

In 1989 the communities of Saco, Biddeford, and Old Orchard Beach banded together to form a tri-community S.W.A.T. Team to deal with issues that can go beyond the capabilities of on-duty personnel such as hostage situations, armed or barricaded persons, high risk building entries, or to arrest known or potentially dangerous persons. Today the Team's purpose remains the same, but the name has changed.

Now called the Special Services Team, it is comprised of fifteen officers from the Saco and Biddeford Police Departments. None of the members are full time team members. All have full time positions at their respective agency; most are assigned to the patrol division. They train once a month and are on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for any emergency that may require their services.

Training consists mainly of mock scenarios where the Team attempts to take a person into custody with the minimum amount of force needed. They train with simunitions (plastic bullets) to make the training as realistic as possible as well as taking part in live fire training exercises.

Having personnel trained and ready to respond to an emergency can be compared to having an insurance policy. You hope you never have to use it, but you are glad you have one.