Grambling State University is turning toward strength in numbers and advanced technology to ensure Homecoming 2022 is as safe as it can be for all on campus.
Homecoming festivities are in full swing at Grambling State, and GSU Police Chief Rodney Demery says that every effort is being made to make sure it will be a safe weekend.
“We’re working with law enforcement agencies as far away as Shreveport to have an increased police presence on campus to try to make things as safe as we can for everyone on campus,” Demery said. “This partnership with all of these agencies is a unit, and we will all be working together.”
“Shreveport is bringing in their mounted patrols, which I’m really excited about,” Demery said. “We called them and they asked what we needed. And closer agencies we’ve been working with for years like the Monroe City Marshal’s Office, the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Morehouse Sheriff’s Office, the Ringgold Police Department SRT (Special Response Team) as well as the Grambling Police Department and the Louisiana State Police, and we’ll have others, too.”
Some of those other agencies that will be on campus include the Homer City Police, Louisiana State Probation and Parole, Ruston Probation and Parole, Arcadia Police Department, Claiborne Parish Sheriff Department, Jones Security, and Justice Security.
“There’s a couple of different reasons for all of it,” Demery said. “One, we want to show an increased presence. The other is that we want to have all the coverage that we need and all of the resources that we have like the State Police helicopter, the drones from our police department, and other things. We want to show our capabilities and strengthen those even more.”
LSP troopers will also join in on law enforcement officials (LEO) doing foot patrol on campus.
“They’ll patrol areas like Freshman Village and other areas around campus so we can have complete coverage,” Demery said.
Advanced technology like a Regional Fusion Center used for the receipt, analysis, gathering, and sharing of threat-related information between State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT), federal and private sector partners will also be used to help make GSU’s campus safer.
“That way we’ll know what Shreveport is working with and what Monroe and all these other agencies converging on campus are using and working with,” Demery said. “This is a huge team effort and I think these relationships are part of the vision to combine resources and deliver that service to make things as safe as possible.”
A partnership with Blue Line Solutions, which provides LIDAR-based automated photo speed enforcement technology for school zones and highways, is another part of the advanced technology GSU is using to help make for a safer campus.
“It’s an innovative technology company for law enforcement,” Demery said. “We have license plate readers and cameras with incredible optics on them so that you can literally go in and type ‘Black Ford truck’ and it will pull up every black Ford truck that’s been on campus at any point we have those cameras strategically located. And those cameras can provide the license plate.”
“So, the technology combined with the boots on the ground is a big part of what’s going to happen to try and make it a safe Homecoming.”
Demery said the strength in numbers ideology goes beyond LEO all the way to GSU students themselves.
“We’re not talking about partnerships with other law enforcement agencies [only],” Demery said. “We’re talking about partnerships with faculty, staff, students, and parents. And surprisingly to some, everybody wants to be involved. Everybody has concerns.”
“Most of our intel and most of our complaints come from students because they’re not comfortable being in unsafe environments.”
Demery said that Grambling’s GSAFE mobile phone app, available on Google Play or The App Store, has played a big role in receiving such information as well as making families of GSU students feel more comfortable by being able to track their students and receive instant information if necessary.
“Most of the Generation Zers are more comfortable with apps,” Demery said. “They’re not as comfortable coming in and talking. But they’re really comfortable with apps, so it’s an easy way for them to let us know if there’s something we need to take care of.”
“Technology is advancing and allowing everyone to play a role in keeping us all safe. Everybody wants to be safe. Everybody wants to have a good time. The problem is that there are always unpredictables, so we have to try and cover all bases. And even then, we can still be vulnerable. That’s just how it is.”
Demery said the way his officers look also plays a role in helping build the relations needed to create a safer campus.
“One of the first things I did when I got to campus was change the uniforms,” Demery said. “I don’t like the utility uniforms that make us look like an occupied force and don’t show the professionalism I think we should have. Our officers should look like police officers. I think it’s incumbent on law enforcement to shed that image and let people know that we’re part of the community and that we’re here.”
“President (Rick) Gallot was concerned about campus safety. That’s his number one concern. And part of making that happen includes presentation and mutual respect between the students and the police department. That goes all the way from having our tactics in place through training ranging from Special Response or SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) type training down to basic training like how to write reports and act professionally. But the overall vision is safety.”
Demery said increased training is another way he and his department are working to make for a safer campus.
“We have people from as far as Dallas coming in every couple of weeks to provide training,” Demery said. “We do bomb sweeps and other things. “In law enforcement and the military, it’s called redeployment,” Demery said of the GSUPD getting assistance from outside officials. “You take all the troops that are out in the field and give them an entirely different mission and send them back out.”
Demery said that while he realizes many people are remembering last year’s Homecoming shooting incident, the work to make GSU safer goes deeper and further than that isolated event.
“In recent years there have been a lot of incidents that have occurred on college campuses, but it’s not unique or exclusive to a college campus,” Demery said. “I think people tend to believe that, but that’s really not the case. Municipalities across the nation big and small are dealing with this kind of thing.”
“There’s a lot of debate going on out there about whether it was COVID or what. We’re not targeted, but we’re not insulated from it either. So, our concerns are concerns that most municipalities have.”
Access to Saturday’s Homecoming game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff will include the standard clear-bag policy as well as weapons scanning. Temporary fencing and checkpoints (car and pedestrian) are in place and only students, faculty, and staff will be allowed on Main Street running through the middle of campus.
A 10 p.m. curfew will remain in place during Homecoming with the only exception being that alumni attending Saturday’s Late-Night Breakfast event will be allowed through although they’ll need passes and will be asked to park in specific areas as directed by officers.
Demery said the enhanced procedures and partnerships are not unique to Homecoming and that some had already been in place.
“Over the years I’ve seen how it all works whether it’s some kind of task force or whatever, even expanding to white-collar crimes and child and computers or whatever,” Demery said. “Partnerships with other agencies help make things safer. The advanced technology helps make things safer. The improved relationships help keep things safer.”
“The bottom line is making things safer for everyone on our campus, from visitors to students to faculty and staff,” Demery said. “This goes beyond Homecoming. It’s more noticeable now, especially for those who haven’t been on campus recently. But we’re working to make this campus safer not only for Homecoming but year-round.”