Policing elections
Policing elections — Authorised Professional Practice
Summary
This APP topic focuses on the policing of elections, emphasizing the prevention and investigation of electoral malpractice. Although rare, electoral malpractice can undermine public confidence in the electoral process, making a police response to allegations crucial. The APP supports officers, particularly force election single points of contact (SPOCs), in planning and coordinating with electoral and counting officers to mitigate malpractice risks. It highlights potential issues before and during polling, especially regarding intimidation of candidates, and delineates the responsibilities of chief officers in addressing these challenges. Additionally, the content includes reference materials that aid officers in effectively managing electoral processes.
Key principles
- 1Electoral malpractice is rare but can significantly impact public confidence.
- 2Police must effectively respond to allegations of electoral malpractice.
- 3SPOCs coordinate responses and planning for electoral events.
- 4Support victims of intimidation and thoroughly investigate related offences.
- 5Chief officers ensure structures and resources are available to address intimidation.
Defined terms
- force election single points of contact (SPOCs)
- Officers responsible for planning the police response to elections.
- threat assessment
- A process to evaluate potential risks and determine appropriate protective measures.
Full guidance
This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.
Electoral malpractice is rare but can attract considerable media attention and undermine public confidence in the electoral process. Public confidence can also be affected by the perception that an initial response to allegations or complaints of electoral malpractice is ineffective.
, who are required to contribute to planning the police response to elections and prevent and detect electoral malpractice. The content will assist their work with electoral registration officers, returning officers and counting officers to minimise the potential for malpractice in the electoral process.
APP on policing elections will also alert forces to issues that may arise in the run-up to polling day, on polling day itself and at related events.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life’s report on Intimidation in Public Life(opens an external website in the same tab) highlights the prevalence of harassment, abuse and intimidation experienced by parliamentary candidates during the 2017 general election. The police service has a responsibility to support victims and investigate allegations and offences related to this type of intimidation. Chief officers are responsible for ensuring that processes, structures and resource are in place to mitigate intimidation of candidates and to investigate any allegations or offences. All these factors will need to be considered when carrying out a threat assessment . Products for candidates and campaigners have also been developed in response to the recommendations made in the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s report.
For further information, go to Candidates and campaigners .
APP on policing elections applies to police forces in England and Wales only.
A Welsh language version of the APP and associated reference material has been produced by the Electoral Commission.
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Read the full APP guidanceSource: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.