Virginia Tech and Blacksburg Police share unique collaboration

[00:00:01] >> It's not unusual to see Virginia Tech Police Chief Kevin Foust talk with students. "Nice meeting you. I'm Kevin." "They see that we're real people too." What's unique is the town-gown relationship with Foust and Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson, a Virginia Tech graduate, share. It's a longstanding collaboration between two communities. [00:00:21] "They deserve for us to to work to keep everybody as safe and secure, regardless of whether they live in town or they live on campus." Having a great working relationship translates to strategic policing. "We can force multiply instantly. The same with Tech. If Kevin needs something, my whole department at his disposal." The two departments train together. [00:00:42] "We know how we're going to move together, we know how we're going to communicate, and so when something does happen we can handle it and then later on we'll determine whose jurisdiction is this, who's going to ultimately be responsible for an investigation." They share resources beyond manpower, including radio frequencies and camera systems in areas where campus and town intersect. [00:01:04] "Some of those cameras are on the edge of campus and some of the view shed is in town on some of the town streets, crosswalks, and so we give access to our camera system to the Blacksburg Police Department." Foust and Wilson are in contact daily. They meet for lunch once a week to talk safety and trends. [00:01:24] It was in one of those meetings the idea of No Ho