City of Greer Photo
Perry Bowens, an School Resource Officer at Greer High School, was on a panel in Charleston last week discussing crowd control and safety at sports events.
“We tell the students it’s still a school-sponsored event when you go the stadium and there is a right way and wrong way to conduct yourself.”
Bowens, Richard Rooker, a Davidson (N.C.) County Circuit Court Judge, who is an ACC football official, and a Show Pros event management representative, headlined a panel sharing experiences and suggestions how to manage crowds at school sporting events.
The Public Safety Appreciation Dinner on Thursday night will honor Bowens and public safety professionals.
Bowens said the best way to prevent incidents is to be close to the action.
During last year’s Greer football game vs. Greenville at Sirrine Stadium, Bowens aligned himself on the Greer sidelines and post-game handshake, and a Greenville SRO did the same for the home team. Other security was scattered around the stadium.
At last year’s Blue Ridge vs. Greer football game at Dooley Field, SROs from each school aligned themselves with each team. A squadron of Greer police, in plain clothes, was seated on both sides of the stadium.
There were no reported incidents from either game, just the way Bowens likes it.
Bowens said SROs share ideas. “We hold monthly SRO meetings in Greenville County and when we play other jurisdictions we talk with those officers, too.”
Bowens, a resident of Greer, is familiar with Greer area families and that is as much a deterrent to bad behavior at events. “We want the students to see us at the games and school events,” he said.
The remodeling of Dooley Field has been a deterrent to crowds rushing the field. “When the stadium was remodeled, gates were put in to keep kids and fans off the field at the end of games,” Bowers said.
Having SROs and off-duty police coupled with professional paid security at school events have proved beneficial, Bowens said.