Taipei: Taiwan's police could make greater use of an "overwatch" strategy to increase psychological pressure on potential criminals and keep police officers from wearing out, a defense expert said, as more police are being deployed in public spaces in the wake of a deadly knife attack. President Lai Ching-te and Premier Cho Jung-tai have instructed police to increase their use of visible policing (vispol) in crowded places to prevent attacks similar to the one on Dec. 19 that left four people dead, including the attacker.
According to Focus Taiwan, Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), acknowledged in an article that the vispol strategy was effective at deterring attacks. He noted that the strategy, which creates psychological pressure on potential perpetrators, is commonly used at airports and other transportation hubs in the United States and Europe. Programs like the U.S. Transportation Security Administration's Visible Intermodal Protection and Response and the U.K. police's Project Servator emphasize highly visible and unpredictable deployments to counter terrorism and other crimes.
Su pointed out the downside of this strategy is the intensive deployment of police officers, which can wear them down, especially in places like Taiwan where officer numbers are already low. An analysis of the Dec. 19 attacks, which occurred in or near Taiwan's MRT system, found that mass transit police were slow to respond due to manpower shortages and scheduling issues that left many stations without police presence.
Su suggested a less human-intensive way to execute the vispol strategy, emphasizing the importance of being seen rather than just the number of officers deployed. For transport hubs, security effectiveness often depends on the use of elevated vantage points. Guidelines such as the International Civil Aviation Organization's Aviation Security Manual recommend that visible officers be positioned on upper floors and mezzanines for effective surveillance.
By positioning officers at elevated points, they can observe large areas while being visible to travelers, achieving psychological deterrence and broad surveillance without impeding movement. This approach, which achieves a "low-disruption, high-deterrence" effect, is common at major international airports. It can reduce the need for extensive foot patrols, conserving manpower while reinforcing the perception of order and safety.
Su's approach offers a reference for metro systems, railways, and security planning for large-scale events. However, the general lack of police officers in places like Taipei's Rapid Transit Division, responsible for covering 117 stations but only able to deploy 80 officers at a time, needs addressing. Samuel Lin, an assistant professor in Ming Chuan University's Department of Criminal Justice, suggested technological solutions like AI surveillance and tracking systems to enhance security without relying heavily on manpower.