The police department provides the City of Gulfport with a specialized team of law enforcement officers for the purpose of moderate risk building and vehicle entries, securing buildings and vehicles for the execution of search warrants, serving moderate risk arrest warrants, making spontaneous probable cause arrests, and providing for containment in high risk incidents or operations with the assistance of a S.W.A.T. or similar team from another law enforcement agency. This team may also be utilized for special enforcement details dealing with localized criminal activity, special events, natural disasters, dignitary protection, civil unrest, or other events at the direction of the chief of police or his designee.
The officers assigned to this team, which is not itself a S.W.A.T. or T.A.C. team, are from each of the various units in the agency.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible to participate in the selection process for the special enforcement team, members must meet the following requirements:
- Be a permanent, full-time, sworn employee with a minimum of one year of police experience after completion of the field training program.
- Not be on work performance disciplinary probation.
- Attain a “meets standard” or “above standard” rating on two most recent evaluations
Selection
Members are selected based on their performance in three assessments:
Firearm Assessment- Using the standard pistol qualification course, achieve two consecutive scores of 90 percent or better.
- Using the standard shotgun qualification course, achieve two consecutive scores of 90 percent or better.
- Using the standard patrol rifle qualification course, achieve two consecutive scores of 90 percent or better.
Physical Assessment--Achieve a minimum 80th percentile on the Cooper Institute age/gender relevant tests for law enforcement in the following exercises:- Maximum sit-ups in one minute
- Maximum push-ups in one minute
- 300 meter run
Intelligence Assessment--Pass a written test on written directive 101, Response to Resistance/Use of Force, with a score of 85 percent or better.Training
SET members receive eight hours of training per quarter, above and beyond training for all other sworn officers. This training consists of the following subjects, at a minimum:
- Re-evaluations of firearms proficiency and physical fitness
- Building entry and searches
- Setting and maintaining secure perimeters
- Stationary and moving surveillance
- Discretionary shooting in scenario-based exercises
