Though many students and alumni will take time off to tailgate or party this weekend, the campus police won’t be taking a break to see who wins Homecoming Queen.

Campus police will be busy making sure all aspects of Homecoming are covered, said Maj. Mike Wallace, field operations commander for campus police.

Some officers will be in the stadium for crowd control, he said. Others will be outside in charge of traffic control. Intersections must be blocked, crowds must be controlled, and regular patrols must still take place.

Campus police are used to the Homecoming event, Wallace said. After all, the event comes every year.

“We don’t consider that anything unusual,” he said.

Campus police have to be prepared for last-minute scheduling, Wallace said.

Homecoming events’ details often aren’t ironed out until the events get closer, he said.

Different groups request police presence for Homecoming week, Wallace said.

Homecoming can be taxing on officers because they have to work overtime, Patrol Commander Kerry Hatchett said.

He’s in charge of patrol scheduling during Homecoming.

Although officers must work overtime with events such as Homecoming, Wallace said the police department has enough staff to do it.

But as Western has more large-scale events, such as this year’s state high school football championships, the police force will need to be expanded, he said.

Wallace said he requested four more officers through stimulus package money, but he hasn’t heard anything about it yet.

He requested grant money totaling $883,680 to add workers, according to a document provided by Richard Bowker, vice president for research and dean of graduate studies.