Governor Bentley Calls For Increased Security at College Football Games

MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley on Friday announced increased security for Saturday’s major college football games in Alabama.  The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) will provide additional support at The University of Alabama’s Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Auburn University’s Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn for Saturday’s scheduled home games.

“Although there have been no known threats in Alabama, I take very seriously the safety and security of Alabamians in light of recent terrorists attacks and threats across the globe”, said Governor Bentley. “It is important to be prepared as a state. That preparation includes closely monitoring soft targets such as college football stadiums and other mass gathering venues.”

Bryant Denny Stadium holds a capacity crowd of 101,821. Jordan-Hare Stadium holds a capacity crowd of 87,451. Fans at the stadiums will see an increase in patrol units monitoring activity during the games, consisting of uniformed Troopers and State Bureau of Investigation Agents.  Additionally, ALEA and the Alabama Fusion Center will maintain regular communication with federal law enforcement partners in the intelligence community. The Alabama Fusion Center is a collaborative effort where two or more agencies share information to maximize their ability to detect, prevent, investigate and respond to criminal and terrorism activity.

The U.S Department of Homeland Security’s See Something, Say Something campaign encourages awareness of terrorist’s activity as well as the importance of reporting suspicious activity to state and local law enforcement. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the Alabama Fusion Center at http://s4.alacop.gov.