Police: Enhanced Alabama game day safety measures prove effective

Tuscaloosa police officials say enhanced safety measures implemented last yea r for University of Alabama football game day weekends are working and will continue this fall.

The 2024 Alabama football season will kick off at 6 p.m. Saturday as the Crimson Tide plays Western Kentucky at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

More: What every Alabama fan needs to know before the 2024 football season

Last year, Tuscaloosa police announced several steps to improve safety on the Strip , a high-traffic, three-block area just west of the UA campus that includes bars, restaurants and other retail businesses. These steps included:

• Beefed-up patrols and a new police substation in the area

• Temporary speed bumps

• New parking and towing rules

• Stricter enforcement of loitering ordinances.

The University of Alabama Police Department also added a special unit dedicated to patrolling the Strip .

Stephanie Taylor, a spokeswoman with the Tuscaloosa Police Department, said the enhanced safety measures fit in with the department's overall objective for game day weekends.

"Our goal is to maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone in the area — both visitors and local workers — while ensuring that people can still have a great time on game day," said Taylor.

Taylor said fans can expect a similar set up this season when it comes to safety on the Strip, including increased more police officers, speed bumps as well as parking and towing regulations.

The presence of more law enforcement officers in the area has been received favorably, she said.

"From what I've seen, people have responded positively and seem comfortable with officers working on the Strip," Taylor said.

She said pedestrians often alert police patrolling the area about potential troubling situations.

"That's the very reason officers are out there — to pick up on a potentially dangerous situation and intervene before it escalates," said Taylor.

In another effort to enhance security on the Strip, the University of Alabama Police Department and TPD have opened a substation at 1209 University Blvd., next door to Taco Bell and across from the Publix grocery store.

The enhanced safety measures were announced in August 2023, after the  Jan. 15 shooting death  of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris of Birmingham near the Strip. Former University of Alabama basketball player  Darius Miles , 21, and 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis remain in jail on capital murder charges in connection with Harris' death.

Before the fatal shooting, Tuscaloosa police had expressed  increasing concerns about safety  on the Strip. In  September 2021 , the Tuscaloosa Police Department said they had noticed an increase in instances of loitering and littering, open drug use and open alcoholic beverage container violations in the area.

Taylor said a lot of planning goes into the preparation before each UA home game, with every game typically drawing hundreds of thousands of fans to Tuscaloosa.

"We regularly attend meetings with UA staff, UAPD and bar/business owners in the areas ahead of football season ― the chief and assistant chief went to one (recently). That's where most of those measures came from ― the towing, queuing ordinance, etc. And they'll continue to meet and make any other changes if needed through the year," she said.

Tuscaloosa Police Department Chief Brent Blankley previously said fans have responded well to the enhanced safety measures during the Oct. 9, 2023, installment of Tuscaloosa Talk, a podcast hosted by the city of Tuscaloosa.

"A lot of parents over the last couple of weekends have come up to me and said, 'Wow it's really nice to have all these new officers out here to make sure everybody's safe,' " Blankley said.

Blankley said TPD just about every resource at the department's disposal during Alabama football game weekends.

"We've got pretty much the entire department working with anywhere from our motorcycle units, our bike units, to our officers directing traffic, officers inside the stadium, our cyber unit," Blankley said during the podcast.

"Our officers work really hard to make sure everyone enjoys the game and have a safe time doing it," he said.

Blankley said safety is a team effort and UAPD has been very helpful in assisting with arrests and patrolling the Strip.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Enhanced Alabama game day safety measures in effect for 2024 season