RADFORD, VA – In just a few days - the Dedmon Center at Radford will be transformed from a basketball court into a political stage.
“It’s a security nightmare,” former law enforcement officer and criminologist Dr. Tod Burke said.
Burke says when he heard Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance was coming to town, his first thought was security.
“You’re going to have the Radford City Police, you’re gonna have Radford University Police, Virginia State Police, and maybe some other jurisdictions,” Burke said.
But Secret Service is no stranger to Radford and the Dedmon Center. Former President Trump stopped there on his campaign trail back in 2016.
“It’s not like an unfamiliar venue. So the police should be aware of the issues that are going to be involved,” Burke said.
This comes on the heels of the assassination attempt on Trump - and Burke says all security involved will be on high alert.
“I think this will be a heightened state of alert to make sure all procedures are followed,” he said.
The biggest factor in keeping people safe Monday? Communication.
“This is important to communicate with other police agencies because they’re going to have to also meet and be on the same page. And I’m not just talking the same page for policies and procedures, I’m talking about for communication as well,” Burke said.
The Dedmon Center is an indoor venue - as opposed to the open-air venue from Trump’s rally.
“Outdoor venues are very complicated, are very dangerous, are very vulnerable. They make the candidate very vulnerable to any sniper, to any event. But it also makes the public extremely vulnerable. Here, at least when you have an indoor venue you can vet as much as you can the people coming into it through certain security measures,” Burke said.
10 News reached out to Radford and State Police to see what exactly they’ll have in place - Radford responded saying they will work in partnership with the University, regional partners, and VSP to prepare, plan and provide security.