What to Expect When Presidential Candidates Come to Campus
Ohio State University’s deputy chief of police describes how his institution plans for presidential campaign and other political VIP visits.
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Keep in mind that the security of the presidential candidate is the responsibility of the Secret Service. It is the local jurisdiction’s responsibility for crowd and traffic management.
Who Pays For Presidential Campaign Security? You Do.
Several issues are almost always encountered with crowd and traffic management. One question that always comes up is, “Who is responsible for paying for the extra staff to manage the crowd and police officers to direct traffic?” The campaign staff will always tell you it is the Secert Service’s responsibility to pay police officers since it is part of the protection of the candidate. However, do not expect to be reimbursed by the Secret Service; they do not pay for your service.
Certain elements of the crowd management plan could very well be considered part of the protective operations. Is traffic direction part of the protective operation? You institution should plan on covering the cost of additional police officers and other security staff. One consideration would be to build some of the cost into the pric e of the venue.
Handle First Amendment Issues With Care
For public institutions, another issue that comes up is that of free speech. The campaign staff will not want anyone to be allowed into the venue with signs that support their candidate’s oppone
nt or are disparaging to their candidate. Since the space is being leased by the campaign staff, they will usually restrict what can be brought into the venue; this usually includes signs. The campaign staff will usually pass out their own signs to patrons as they enter the venue. The Secret Service may very well screen patrons entering the venue and will restrict contraband including weapons from entering. The campaign staff or their designees will enforce the restrictions on signs and banners.
Two other free speech issues that may come up are protesters outside and/or inside the venue. Protesters inside the venue may try to disrupt the candidate or other speakers by heckling or shouting down the speaker.
In handling protesters outside the venue, local laws and ordinances should be followed. The Secret Service will not get involved in any of the free speech issues; remember their mission is the protection of the presidential candidate. The campaign staff may very well try to get involved in these issues as they will demand that action be taken right away. Often times they are not aware of local laws or ordinances. That is why a strategy to respond to these issues should be determined during the planning phase. The local committee that is planning the event should include at a minimum the local sponsor of the campaign (usually a student organization), venue management, law enforcement/public safety, representative of the campaign staff, institution’s government relations, student life and legal affairs.
A strategy on how to respond to protesters should be developed. It is recommended that your legal department give you guidance in this area. Local laws and ordinances, and even recent Supreme Court rulings on free speech issues should be reviewed.
Another issue that needs to be addressed in the event planning is crowd capacities. The campaign staff will want a “full house.” Again they may not be familiar with local laws and ordinances. The person in your jurisdiction with the authority to enforce this issue should be involved in the planning and should be present during the event. In most jurisdictions, this will be the fire marshal.
Briefings Must Cover Protection Details
So far everything that has been covered involves event planning. Now the day of the visit has arrived. This day can be broken down into several phases: the briefing, site preparation (which includes securing the venue), the arrival, the event and the departure.
The briefing will depend a lot on the size and staffing of the event, in addition to the number of different agencies involved. If it is a large event, there should be a command briefing that includes command officers from each agency involved and supervisors for each area of responsibility, such as traffic and crowd management. It is import that an overview of the protection detail be reviewed at each of the different briefings. These commanders will then go back and brief their individual agency and offices.
Be prepared to have officers posted on site to secure the venue several hours prior to the start of the event. Depending on the nature of the event, the program may very well start before the candidate arrives.
Once the candidate arrives, often times there will be a meet and greet session set up by the campaign staff. This may occurred prior to the candidate taking the stage or after, or sometimes both. If a meet and greet is at the conclusion of the event, the security perimeter will remain in place until the candidate departs.
Conduct Hot Washes, Debriefings Immediately After Event
Once the candidate departs and the crowd leaves, your job is not quite over. A hot wash and an after action debrief should be held at the conclusion of each event. It should be stressed that we learn from our experiences, not mistakes.
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