Regional Police started Laurier homecoming preparation last year

All hands were on deck when it came to the Wilfrid Laurier homecoming weekend.

To ensure students safety for this year’s homecoming, Superintendent Daryl Goetz says Regional Police joined forces with a number of partners.

“Including the city itself and by-law, Waterloo Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services and Laurier,” he says.

This is the first homecoming year where police have held their command post in one of their detachments.

Deputy Chief of Emergency Medical Services Kevin Petendra says they upped their staff and had a first response unit that began at noon.

“So far today, we’ve only had to attend to 4 calls,” says Petendra, “where all patients were transported to the hospital.”

Patendra says the calls they’ve had are centered on students falling, scrapes and bruises, but most of them being alcohol and drug related.

Goetz says they also attended a few medical calls: “I believe we had a fractured arm, somebody came off a roof, but I haven’t got an update on that person’s condition.”

Goetz tells 570 NEWS how the force is making sure the aftermath of homecoming isn’t destructive.

“There is no magic formula to say this will not happen, there’s a lot of things that are not within our control,” says Goetz. “But I can say pretty much prepared and done everything we can, in terms of messaging that’s gone on over the last couple months, we’ve had the door knocker program, and we went out last week. We’ve done a lot of preparation and there is only so much we can do.”

He adds fines have been given out to students, but they won’t have the total number until Tuesday.