TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – With passionate fans, students and alumni flocking to the capital city on Saturday, local law enforcement agencies are preparing to keep thousands of people safe during a busy weekend in Tallahassee.
High above the action at Doak Campbell Stadium, Florida State police captain Greg Washington said officers have a bird’s eye view of the crowds.
From a box inside the stadium, officers use cameras and other equipment to monitor the behavior of the crowd.
Planning and preparation begin in the off-season so that agencies can send officers for training. During the week of a game, officers are given operational plans.
“We have a briefing before the game to show as far as the operation where they should be, give them specific assignments, evacuation assignments, sweeps, bomb sweeps,” Washington said.
Agencies from across Florida send officers and deputies to help with the additional crowds.
“The sheriff’s office is responsible for the security inside of Doak Campbell Stadium during the game. To that end, we will have roughly 125 personnel working the game,” LCSO Special Operations Division Chief Lee Majors said.
While there are more than 100 deputies inside Florida State’s stadium, there are even more city officers outside.
On the weekends when Florida A&M University is also taking the field less than a mile away, Maurice Holmes with the Tallahassee Police Department said law enforcement agencies divvy up resources.
“We have to make sure we have adequate staffing, and we are talking about maybe quadruple the number of officers that are in the city on a given day,” Holmes said.
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William Evers, Deputy Chief of Police at FAMU, said they also monitor social media for any signs of trouble before the game.
“We look at the different trends, and so we know different games and different teams that we play bring in different types of fan support, and we know some of the larger games, where we know it’s going to be larger crowds, we know a lot of times that is the times opportunities will be much greater,” Evers said.
With guest officers helping from other agencies, police need to make sure everyone is speaking the same language.
“The codes may not be the same and so we make it a point to use plain talk, so we are not using different codes and signals for specific agencies,” Washington said.
As people enjoy the games this weekend, officers are reminding fans that some of the most important policing comes with help from the community.
“We rely on the public, too. See something, say something. Find somebody and let them know you see something that doesn’t look safe,” Evers said.
FSU takes on Wake Forest at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. FAMU plays Jackson State at 7:00 p.m.
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