Security Is Top Priority At High School Stadiums

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- As the high school football season gets under way, local police officers are taking extra care to make sure students don't end up getting into fights at the games.

"Everyone just gets really rough and crazy," said Lisa Hendrix, a junior at Fayetteville High School.

She said the crowds at football games can get rowdy, and occassionally, they get out of hand.

"A lot of kids run around, not watching the game. You see a lot of fights break out," said Barker Watkins, who graduated from FHS a few years ago.

But both Hendrix and Watkins stressed that most of the problems that arise are quickly sniffed out by police officers who are a constant presence at high school football games.

"I've seen a lot of fights stopped by them and seen a lot of threats and whatnot stopped by police officers," Watkins said.

"It's normally things that have started at school and they've moved over to the game," said Cpl. John Foster, who works at Fayetteville High School and also patrols each home football game.

He said it's important for officers like himself to make their presence known to the crowd. Most students who entertain thoughts of fighting are deterred simply by the sight of a few police badges.

"We like to walk around and just be seen and walk to the fans and just let them know that we're here," Foster said.

He added that students respond better to him and other school resource officers because they're a constant presence during class as well as on game nights.

"It seems like they respect us more since they see us on more of a personal level than just, there's a police officer," Foster said.

Police officers are also careful to make sure the fans rooting for opposing teams are separated from each other throughout the game. That greatly reduces the chances of fights breaking out because of the action on the field.