Law enforcement plan high-level safety for large events in Starkville
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Throughout the year, thousands of people come to events on the Mississippi State University Campus and in Starkville.
Law enforcement agencies have to plan for any possible emergencies.
The Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office said cooperation among agencies helps ensure safety at these large-scale events.
Whether it’s an MSU football game, Bulldog Bash, or downtown festivals, agencies like the MSU Police, Starkville Police, and Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office work as a team to provide proper security and react if there is an emergency.
“Immediately, we want to try to secure assistance from our surrounding agencies, secure assistance from other law enforcement; EMS and fire are here in Oktibeeha County because having that unified command in the event of an emergency is very important,” Brett Watson said. “We must all be on the same sheet of music, and we are all able to work together as seamlessly as possible, so that’s always the most primary thing we try to do. ”
With Starkville living up to the nickname ‘Starkvegas’ with lots of activity, law enforcement makes sure to prepare for whatever can happen.
Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office Operations Captain Brett Watson said full-scale drills are one way they practice for the unexpected.
“Having a plan in place for who’s going to be where, who’s going to be doing what, to make that as efficient as possible is a really big deal as well,” Watson said. “We want to make sure we have adequate medical staff on hand. I think in just about any large-scale gathering that we deal with, we at least respond to a few medical emergencies every time.”
Watson said gamedays and other large events require a high level of cooperation among departments.
“That command post consists of every single agency, and you can see it after the ball games and during the ball games when everybody’s handling their role, it really comes into play after the ball games,” Watson said. “We’re talking about traffic management and things like that. But having us together to be able to respond to it as a group draws us together more as agencies.”
Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department said they reach out to other agencies to help plan out safety measures for future large-scale events.
