Where areas of potential risks to voter safety or public order have been established through risk analyses, it can be more cost-effective to deal with voting site physical security (see Voting Site Security Arrangements) through the deployment of small rapid reaction security units, either police, military, or mixed forces, depending on the security situation, capable of responding to emergencies in more than one voting station.
Such units would preferably act under the direction of the relevant joint operations centre (see Operations and Security Centres) to ensure consistency and coordination in the chain of command.
Areas of Responsibility
Each rapid reaction unit would normally operate within a defined area of responsibility embracing particular voting subdivisions or electoral administration areas.
Depending on the level of threat and the location of voting stations, the operational methods used may vary. Where voting stations are in close proximity to each other, and none are regarded as of very high risk, there may be total reliance on highly mobile rapid reaction units.
In areas of higher security risk, a mixed solution may be used, with a small presence at each individual voting station backed by mobile reserve forces.
Similarly, in areas where voting stations are widely dispersed, it would be unwise to rely solely on mobile security units without some presence at or near each voting station. In lower security risk areas, use of usual policing centres as the bases from which teams may be sent if necessary may be sufficient.
Bases for these mobile units need not be established security force bases, though there are obvious advantages in using these from communications and support perspectives. Whether it is more useful for such operational bases to have a discrete or a high-profile presence will also vary in different environments.
Factors to be considered are whether a show of force is deemed necessary to reduce potential disturbance or, rather, will aggravate the situation or intimidate voters.
Necessary Conditions
Rapid reaction forces are likely to be effective only under certain conditions:
• bases situated to provide a fast response time to all voting stations within each force's area of responsibility;
• sufficient staff and vehicles to allow response to more than one emergency simultaneously;
• reliable voice communication systems between the mobile security team's base, all its vehicles, voting stations within the team's area of responsibility and the relevant joint operations centre.
Reserve Forces
Effective security for voting sites requires the ability to call on reserve or back-up facilities for emergencies.
To ensure response time is reasonable, such reserve forces need also to be operating from dispersed bases. In high security risk situations, these may be additional police or, if necessary, military units at the ready during the whole period voting sites are operational.
In lower security risk environments, the ability to call security forces from other tasks may suffice.
Whatever the case, plans for the mobilisation of such forces need to be considered in security planning and their role, the chain of command from election operations centres, and the priority to be given to election emergencies needs to be made clear to the relevant security units.
