Police to increase foot patrols for University of Missouri Homecoming

More police officers will be on the streets in Columbia this weekend.

The Columbia Police Department will increase foot patrols downtown and in the East campus area for the University of Missouri’s Homecoming festivities, CPD spokesman Jeff Pitts said.

While there will be more officers on the streets, bars and nightclubs in Columbia are not required to have armed security guards.

“Venues do though have an obligation to provide security to prevent any unforeseen injuries or threats against patrons,” said Zach Rugen, owner of Nightclub Security Services, a training and consulting business.

Rugen said most bars have bouncers, but a bouncer is typically not a licensed officer and isn’t armed.

“Most bouncers’ responsibility is to check IDs to make sure everyone’s of legal age to enter, patrolling the inside and outside of the venue watching for suspicious people and making sure no one is over-intoxicated or causing too much trouble,” Rugen said.

In an active shooter situation, Rugen said a bouncer’s job is to stay alive.

“You want to try and stay alive. You aren’t doing anybody any good if you get injured in the middle of it,” he said.

CORRECTION: It’s been changed to clarify wording about CPD’s increased patrols.

KMIZ