The term "snatch squad" refers to two tactics used by

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

riot control Riot control is a form of public order policing used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to social control, control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful Demonstration (people), demonstration ...

and crowd control.

In riot control

The snatch squad in riot control involves several

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

s, usually wearing protective riot gear, rushing forwards—occasionally in a flying wedge formation—to break through the front of a crowd, with the objective of snatching one or more individuals from a riot that are attempting to control the demonstration at which they are present. The target may be a leader or a speaker, or someone who seems to be leading the crowd. In one British form of the tactic, three or four officers rush at a group of violent or disorderly people, with two of the officers carrying batons and the others a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

. The officer with the shield rushes the most violent in the group and forces the subject between the shield and a fixed object, while the other officers either arrest the others or escort them out of the crowds.

Plainclothes snatch squads

A snatch squad may also refer to plainclothes police officers apprehending individuals, often in a looting situation. Often the plainclothes police officers will mingle with crowds intent on causing trouble and appear to be a bystander. The undercover officers can arrest any individual attempting to break or loot a store, often in an isolated scenario with few crowds as not to provoke an attack on the officers. Snatch squads are also employed against violent fugitives when they are otherwise likely to barricade themselves or use force in a search warrant setting.

Images

German police snatch squad
ready for action (6th image on page)

References

Riot control Crowd control {{Law-enforcement-stub