As of Jan. 4, 2010, Farmville Police Chief Doug Mooney has been working alongside Longwood's Police Chief Bob Beach in order to keep the town of Farmville and Longwood University students safe by practicing concurrent jurisdiction between both departments. Concurrent jurisdiction between police departments is when two departments join forces while allowing equal authority between officers in the affected area.
In 2008, the town of Farmville and Longwood University petitioned for the circuit court to grant permission for Farmville police to have equal jurisdiction on Longwood's campus, as well as allow Longwood police to have equal jurisdiction in the town.
Mooney explained that before he became chief of police in Farmville, concurrent jurisdiction was not yet set in motion. In order to get started, Mooney and Beach created a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to "set forth guidelines on how [they] would exercise [their] rights [between the two jurisdictions]," said Beach.
Mooney said concurrent jurisdiction was put into place to "offer better services to Longwood University students, first and foremost." Mooney and Beach wanted to "work together, because it is a whole lot easier than working by ourselves," said Mooney.
According to Beach, the whole purpose behind concurrent jurisdiction is "to provide public safety to the people of Farmville and a safe environment for the town of Farmville." With this being said, Beach referred to Longwood as a "neighbor [to Farmville] that rolls in every year with 5,000 or more students," which is a huge addition to the town. Beach said, "The goal of concurrent jurisdiction was so that Longwood University could help support and be an active part of the public safety process for the entire town with the realization that our [Longwood police] focus would be on trying to help the town with the four, five thousand people we bring in each year."
Many people believe Longwood has a small student body; however, residents of Farmville see it as a large impact on their daily lives. Beach said, "Many residents are afraid to come out of their homes from Thursday nights through Sunday mornings." Realizing that residents are scared by student activity, there are points that both Beach and Mooney want students to realize about the concurrent jurisdiction between both departments.
Mooney said, "Number one is that students need to realize that if a Longwood police officer is, [for example], in the Wal-Mart parking lot, and [the officers] see something they can't ignore, they can take law enforcement action if necessary, even though it is not Longwood property or on the campus."
In other words, students should understand that Longwood police have the right and responsibility to take law enforcement action in any setting off campus. In accordance with Mooney, Beach noted, "each Longwood police officer is sworn in as a Prince Edward County deputy," meaning if a Longwood officer confronts you outside of Farmville, they can still take law enforcement action if necessary.
Beach added, "Whether it's a Farmville officer, Longwood officer, Prince Edward Co. sheriff, or a Virginia state officer, they all have jurisdiction over the Farmville area and Longwood University campus." In addition, Beach made it very clear that "all officers are looking for the same thing: honesty and respect. If you can respond to officers with honestly and respect, then you can expect the same thing back."
Beach called 2011 "the year of YES." This means that if a student or person approaches either police departments looking for help or answers, they will say, "Yes." Beach said, "We will work with you to try to come up with a solution to your problem."
Both Mooney and Beach expressed their passion in working alongside Longwood students. They want students to be aware of their roles and responsibilities in this town, only in hopes to create a safer and more productive environment. Mooney called concurrent jurisdiction a "win-win" situation for both departments because they are pulling together their resources to work effectively as one cohesive unit.
