Starkville PD discusses safety ahead of graduation
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s graduation week at Mississippi State University.
This is an exciting time of life as students are about to enter the next phase.
It’s also a week full of celebrations.
The Starkville Police Department wants to make sure citizens stay safe and make good decisions as they commemorate this milestone.
Students are preparing to cross the stage and receive their degrees.
Friends and family from all over the country will be in town to help those graduates celebrate this milestone.
But, more people in town often means more calls for the Starkville Police Department.
“It’s the highest call ratio we handle throughout the year,” said Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard. “It’s higher than even our game day operations. We get it because people are excited. It’s a large crowd, and it’s a fun time.”
During the time surrounding the S.E.C. matchup between the University of Georgia and MSU, the Starkville Police Department handled 386 calls for service, involving responses to public calls and officer-involved incidents.
A random weekend last month, there were 372 calls.
However, for Wednesday through Sunday for the 2024 Spring graduation, that number was 486.
“It’s marking the end of a journey, and you have more family, you have cousins, everybody comes to town to celebrate, and many times they’re not used to the normal game day operations, whereas you have season holders and people kind of getting used to a routine. When you do one game, you’ve done them all, as far as routines go. But celebrations are a little different. People are new to town, new to parking, new to traffic. So it can be confusing if you don’t plan ahead,” Ballard said.
Chief Mark Ballard said planning ahead can save you in the long term.
“We get it that this is a fun time, an important time, but probably one of the most important things to remember is that one simple bad decision can impact your future educational goals,” Ballard said. “It can impact your employment opportunities. So by planning ahead, by being safe, you protect those opportunities. That’s very important to remember during this time of year.”
Chief Ballard said it’s always a good idea to use available resources such as transportation services.
“I can’t stress it enough,” Ballard said. “Having a designated driver and having a common-sense person to be in your friend group, if you do that, generally you can make it through the celebration parties without any issues. A lot of people are going to be new to the community, new to the city. Plan ahead and know that there might be some restrictive parking, and there might be restrictive areas where you can’t go down certain streets. We’re going to have details out. And if you do take it to the after-hours parties, know where you’re going, know the address, know who you’re with, those things go a long way in safety.”
Chief Ballard said do not hesitate to call for help if there is an emergency, and if you see something, say something.
