‘Be active, be visible, be nice’: MTSU using $1.8M to improve safety measures on campus

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — School may be out for the summer, but for security personnel at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), the work never really stopped.

MTSU has spent the summer working to bolster its safety measures. The MTSU Police Department’s motto: be active, be visible, be nice.

“If you’re around campus, you’re going to see us,” MTSU Police Chief Edwin Kaup said.

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MTSU’s Police Department has recently been using over $1.8 million in grants to improve safety measures across campus.

MTSU obtained the funds from the Office of Criminal Justice Programs’ ‘Higher Education Safety Grant’ within the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration earlier this year. That grant was part of a larger pot of $30 million and was split between other state higher education institutions.

“I feel visible means it’s going to make you feel safer. It’s going to be a better experience, and our job is to — because we are a university — is to educate students,” Kaup said. “To bring that environment around where it is safe to learn and get an education is what our purpose is.”

Recently, the department announced the addition of K-9 Officer Ace. Ace is trained to scout areas for possible explosives and firearms throughout the campus.

“It gives us the ability to not have to call in and ask for help [from] Rutherford and Murfreesboro all the time to come and sweep a building or something like that,” Kaup said. “It gives us the ability to do it ourselves, on our own schedule, in our own area. It also gives the canine a chance to get used to the area as well.”

The Department is also implementing a range of other security upgrades. One of those changes includes creating access cards to enter buildings with the help of more secure electronic doors.

“One of the biggest things we’re doing is lighting our parking lots. We’re replacing all the current lighting with LED lights, which is much brighter and more energy efficient, as well as lighting at all the bus stops on campus,” Kaup said. “Another big thing that is going to be visible to people, especially coming to games in the fall, is weapons detection.”

Lieutenant Jon Leverette led the coordination of earning $5,000 from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office in an ongoing grant that the department applies for each year.

“We designated $4,000 to be used for the purchase of equipment — namely a radar speed trailer — and $1,000 to be put toward officer overtime pay for enforcement campaigns,” Leverette said.

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Since receiving the trailer, officers tow and set up the trailer at key roads across campus where the device displays oncoming vehicles’ speed. The trailer collects data ranging from speed to traffic patterns, helping the department not only increase speeding awareness, but also better analyze and work to improve traffic flow issues.

“We care about the people who come here,” Kaup said. “We care about their safety. We care about them feeling safe.”

The university is working to add these enhancements as quickly as possible.They aim to complete the upgrades by summer 2025.

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