Law enforcement agencies work together to increase staffing for LSU and South’s home openers on Saturday

BATON ROUGE – It will be a busy Saturday for police as both LSU and Southern football have their first home games 30 minutes apart.

With that in mind, law enforcement agencies in the region are joining forces to ensure they have enough personnel to maintain a high level of security in Baton Rouge – particularly around Tiger Stadium and AW Mumford Stadium.

WBRZ spoke with Southern University police about their plans for their portion of game day in Baton Rouge.

“To supplement our numbers, we utilize agencies from surrounding areas. Baker, Zachary, the probation officers and all of us work together to make the event safer,” said Lt. Kenneth Guy.

Since both teams are in Baton Rouge, the Baton Rouge Police Department has a great responsibility to have officers at both games and throughout the city.

“We have over 100 officers at LSU, 20 to 30 of them work at Southern and we are out there making sure everyone is safe,” said L’Jean McKneely, BRPD spokeswoman.

Police also say they have officers on duty responding to calls as well. Police at both locations will be directing traffic to help everyone get to and from the game, but ask for patience as many people will be going to games in Baton Rouge this weekend.

In addition, police presence will be increased to ensure that no one drives while drunk.

“The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission provides us with money every year so we can do additional patrols throughout the year. If you are impaired and under the influence of anything, use the resources available to you, whether it be friends or family,” McKneely said.

Officers from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office and State Police will also be on site in both areas to keep people safe and ensure everyone is making the right decisions.