Over 1,700 public safety officials will flood the Farmville area to offer security assistance to Longwood University during vice presidential debate in less than two weeks.
Approximately 75 percent of the officials offered to work voluntarily, outside of food and lodging costs, according to Longwood Police Chief Col. Robert Beach. He said the majority of assistance is coming from within Virginia and some are providing support from across the country, including the U.S. Secret Service.
“The community should understand that this is a very, very historic event and that they should relish the opportunity to experience it from that perspective,” said Beach. “I think that there’s this misperception that there’s going to be this great upheaval and turmoil that is going to occur, and I don’t think that will be the case at all.”
In their 18-month preparation for potential risks posed by the debate, Beach said Longwood Police, in a “unified command structure” with the Farmville Police Department, Prince Edward County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police, conducted a risk assessment resulting in a 40 to 50-page incident action plan.
“It’s pretty significant; that’s what two years’ worth of planning does,” said Beach.
The details of the plan couldn’t be released, he added.
Matt McWilliams, director of Communications & Media Relations said, “Many details of the emergency plan can’t be released for security reasons, but emergency personnel will be on hand and equipped to deal with any situation on campus or in town. The plan is comprehensive and nimble enough to allow for resources to be dispatched as needed.”
According to the official Longwood debate website, a perimeter security fence will be erected by Sept. 28 around Willett, Hull, Bedford, Wygal and Dorrill Dining Halls as well as Greenwood Library, the Communication Studies and Theater Center and the Health and Fitness Center, which will hold the media filing center during the debate.
Within the security perimeter, no one will be able to enter without an approved credential, according to the website. Debate volunteers, media, ticket holders and Longwood faculty and staff in the area will be granted different levels of access.
Beach believed the event garnered enough security support from external resources in order to protect the surrounding communities from facing a drop-off in their daily safety needs.
“One of the primary principles that we put in during this process was to make sure that we provided the same quality of service to the entire Prince Edward, Farmville, central Virginia community that they get every day,” said Beach. “That we weren’t going to rob that resource from the community in order to put on this vice presidential display.”
Beach said he “doesn’t anticipate any violence because that’s not the nature” of the event, but they have prepared for “any risk you can imagine.”
The department hasn’t received any threats as Tuesday, Oct. 4 approaches, said Beach.
The university is providing a designated free speech area on Lancer Field, a practice facility for the athletics department called First Amendment Field for organizations and individuals to voice their views on the day of the debate.
The field was historically used for a similar purpose during the 1960s to protest the segregation and eventual closure of Prince Edward County Public Schools for five years, refusing to integrate.
“We put in place everything we can to make sure people can make statements, do what people think is in their desire to exercise their first amendment right and exercise their right to be in the political process,” said Beach.
McWilliams said any organization or individual can sign up for a 10-minute speaking slot on the field, where a stage and microphone will be provided on the day of the debate beginning at 10 a.m.
Prior to or after Oct. 4, he said people can still use the space, but the sound system and platform will not be set up.
“We have a plan to address it,” said Beach, if any demonstration escalated.
An estimated cost for security was unavailable when requested, according to McWilliams.
Over the summer, the original host for the first presidential debate Wright State University, a large public university in Ohio, backed out of their spot due to mounting security costs, according to a press release from Wright State.
In a July 19 press conference, Wright State President David Hopkins said, “There has been a growing crescendo of concern about what it would take to guarantee the safety and security of the campus and the community. The expense would be daunting.”
The press release said they estimated security costs to surpass $8 million.
According to Longwood’s official debate website, the university planned to spend “a few million dollars” on hosting the event. A more specific estimate has not been released.
During the 2012 Vice Presidential debate host was expected to spend at least $3.3 million, according to a report by the Lexington Herald-Leader.
