EAST LANSING, Mich. — As thousands of Spartan and Wolverine fans prepare for the rivalry match-up in East Lansing on Saturday, Michigan State University police said they’re making sure all their ducks are in a row.
"We have a robust safety and security plan in place that guides our event operations and we are very prepared,” said Inspector Chris Rozman with MSU Police.
Rozman said that plan will go into effect as early as 7 a.m. when tailgating starts. The K-9 unit will be on site that morning and ready to work.
“Our K-9 units are used for football, he said. “Both to do sweeps beforehand and they’re visible during the game, while they fulfill their function, so if you see one of our K-9s during the game be sure to stop and say hi.”
MSU Police will be beefing up the number of officers they’ll have at the stadium over what they'd have on a normal football Saturday. They’ll also be getting help from other agencies.
Rozman said he believes MSU police are prepared for this weekend based on the levels of criminal activity they've seen on past game weekends.
“We do commonly see an increase in citations,” Rozman said. “Alcohol facilitated type crimes, minor possessions, drunken disorderly, also selling without a permit, merchandise and so forth. So, those are some of the common things we see for football.”
But he hopes fans do their part by helping create a fun, game day experience.
“We’re going to do our best to maintain a safe environment on campus, we would also just encourage everybody to be respectful, be patient and arrive early. Those would be our biggest tips,” Rozman said.
