Special police units: the ‘men of the first hour’

Swiss special units were established 50 years ago, thanks to the initiative of a police commander from canton Aargau. The participants of Switzerland's first anti-terrorism courses, held half a century ago, call themselves "the men of the first hour". These pioneers laid the groundwork for special units such as Argus in canton Aargau, Barracuda in Basel Country, and Enzian in canton Bern – units deployed when situations become critical. "In the past, we had police officers in many places, but coordination was poor," says Leon Borer, a former police commander in Aargau. "Often, we were deployed alone or in pairs. When a major operation arose, we had to round up officers who weren’t coordinated at all. That posed a significant risk for everyone." The Munich attack prompted a rethink The dangers of inadequate preparation were starkly illustrated during the 1972 Munich Olympics. Palestinian terrorists attacked the Israeli team, turning a hostage situation into a tragedy that ended with ...