LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A government watchdog has examined Los Angeles Police Department SWAT operations and is making several recommendations for improvement, with the findings to be presented Tuesday to the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners.
“The review examined SWAT’s operational protocols, tactical decision making, documentation practices, compliance with professional standards and operational outcomes across three primary categories of activity: unplanned call-outs, planned operations, and Crisis Negotiation Team-only responses,” according to the Office of Inspector General. “Based on its findings, the OIG identified opportunities to strengthen operational consistency, documentation and oversight (to present) for the board’s consideration.”
The report is based on a review of special weapons and tactics operations at incidents between January and August of 2025 and is the second in a series examining the LAPD’s SWAT platoon.
The findings were broken into several categories.
On the subject of use of force, the report points out “notably low” use of lethal and non-lethal force in the incidents reviewed, praising the unit’s “disciplined and measured approach to resolving high-risk situations.”
The OIG report offered no recommendations with regard to use of force.
In examining the tactical tools at the platoon’s disposal, the report calls for all SWAT officers to be equipped with “the same high-quality night optical devices.”
With regard to the unit’s after-action reporting system, the OIG identified “opportunity for improvement” and recommended that the online portal used for such reports be updated “by adding a feature that allows the upload of supporting documents.”
“During high-risk warrant operations, SWAT generates a digital operations plan and distributes hard copies to team members during briefings,” the report states. “But the current Warrant AAR portal cannot upload or attach the digital plan to the corresponding report. As a result, hard copies must be stored in file cabinets, creating duplicative record keeping and inefficiencies. Allowing digital operations plans to be uploaded and linked directly to the Warrant AAR would improve efficiency, accessibility and document retention, while strengthening oversight and audit functions.”
The report also praised the SWAT unit’s decision-making process, calling it “thorough and well-structured.”
Nonetheless, the OIG recommended filling certain upper-level leadership positions “to maintain operational needs and ensure consistent leadership.”
Another recommendation offered was to “reinforce the expectation” that the captain or bureau staff officer requesting a SWAT deployment be present during all SWAT operations.
On technology, the report noted that “many operational and administrative processes still rely on hard-copy documentation and lack modern technological enhancements, limiting SWAT’s ability to exercise real-time command and control.”
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