A SWAT team is a group of highly trained police officers who deal with very dangerous criminals. SWAT is an acronym that means Special Weapons And Tactics. SWAT officers carry weapons of higher caliber than most police officers do, such as machine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles. Usually, police departments use SWAT teams to catch people who sell illegal drugs or try to hold people hostage. They also respond to serious crimes like bank robberies when normal police officers cannot control the criminals.