The Conway Police Department established a Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) when it was decided that a highly trained team of officers was needed to be available for any and all high risk situations. The SWAT Team was formed in 1986 with five (5) original team members.

High-risk situations, by their nature, pose a high risk to the life and/or safety of the citizens of this community and any responding law enforcement personnel. The response to this required well-disciplined, specially trained and equipped personnel, functioning as a team to conclude any situation safely and effectively. The team is utilized for such functions as barricaded person(s), hostage situations, high-risk apprehensions, high risk search warrants (narcotic and/or criminal) and any other activity that is directed as such by the Chief of Police or his designee.

The primary objective of the SWAT Team is to preserve the life of the hostages, citizens, and law enforcement personnel as well as that of the suspect(s).

The secondary objectives are suspect apprehension, the recovery and preservation of evidence and the recovery and preservation of property.

The team is composed of personnel assigned to the Patrol Division. SWAT is not a full time assignment, and as such, these duties are above and beyond the normal responsibilities of the team members.

Members of the team are certified law enforcement officers and must have at least one year of experience with the department before they are eligible to apply for assignment to the SWAT Team. They must pass a strenuous physical agility test and firearm proficiency prior to proceeding to the next level of training.

The team is trained in the use of many weapons but the two that are assigned as duty carry are the Glock Model 17 9mm and the H&K MP-5. Recently the Conway Police Department began utilizing "Less Lethal" technologies. SWAT Team personnel were instrumental in getting these munitions expanded to the entire department. The SWAT Team is also trained in the varied deployments of distraction devices and the use of chemical agents.

The Conway Police Department in voluntarily cooperation with the Arkansas State Police, and the Faulkner County Sheriff's Department, has entered into a cooperative effort policy that has lead to the formation of a team within the Faulkner County Sheriff's Department. At this time, the two teams have conducted many missions that were totally integrated.

K-9 Unit

The first K-9 Unit in Conway was established in 1982 with a German Shepherd named "Chums". The Conway Police Departments first K-9 handler was Sgt. Jerry Snowden, who is our department's former Chief of Police. In 1985, Officer Benny Battles, who retired at the rank of Major in 2006 after 23 year of service, became the second K-9 handler in the history of our department. The ground work that Chief Snowden and Major Battles set, has produced our current K-9 Unit which currently has three K-9 teams.
Our K9 unit consists of three handler /dog teams.  K9 "Rex" & Officer Dan Pannell, K9 "Taxi" & Officer Casey Dunn, and K9 "Grim" & Officer Clay Smith.  All the canines are German Shepherds and are trained in narcotics detection (marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, crack, and heroin), building searches, criminal apprehension, tracking, evidence recovery and other areas. All our dogs are trained to meet the certification standards of the North American Police Working Dog Association. The dogs were approximately 18 months old when we received them and will continue to work until they reach retirement age, which is between 7 and 10 years of age. Our dogs live with the handlers to insure a strong bond and dedication of our K-9 teams. The canines are trained and socialized to do public relations work and public demonstrations. They are available to give demonstrations to schools and other groups upon request.
The K-9 Unit has made numerous drug seizures since its development in 1982. Most notable of these is the seizure of 315 pounds of marijuana in 1996, which was found by K-9 "King" and handler Thomas Knopp.

Traffic Unit

The Conway Police Departments’ Traffic Unit utilizes two motorcycle officers assigned primarily to enforce speeding and other traffic laws, two officers with traffic accident reconstruction training assigned to investigate traffic crashes and one officer assigned to enforce parking laws, especially in the downtown area of Conway.  Additionally, the Conway Police Department participates in a Seat Belt Task Force as well as a DWI Task Force.  Both task forces are designed to make our streets safer by paying officers overtime to enforce laws specifically addressing these areas of concern.