Since 1945 the New South Wales Police Force has maintained a team of tactical police available for specialist operations with the creation of the 'Riot Squad' which consisted of a number detectives from '21 Division' to counter the number of armed hold ups that occurred after World War II. Over the following years it became known as the 'Emergency Squad' and in 1977 had its name changed to the 'Special Weapons and Operations Section' (SWOS) with its size and role expanding, including a full-time complement of 27 officers and 400 part-time officers across the State.