STARKVILLE — On Friday, Mississippi State University announced the MSU Police Department has a new chief of police, though with 27 years of experience on the campus, it’s hard to call Chief Kenneth Rogers “new.”
Rogers said he knows nearly every square inch of the campus, as he started working for the university’s police department as a ticket writer in 1996.
“I started off as a ticket writer,” Rogers said. “Parking attendants are not people’s favorite people… But being a ticket writer gave me a different perspective. I learned all of the streets and the buildings, and I walked around interacting with people.”
Over the years, Rogers worked his way up from ticket writer to officer to lieutenant to captain to assistant chief, and finally, to chief of police.
After his recent shift into the chief’s chair, Rogers told The Dispatch on Monday afternoon his plans for the department.
“Our goal is to be a proactive police department,” Rogers said. “To be out and to know that we are available to partner with… groups that are here on campus to make sure that our campus is safe. We want to be considered partners, because we can’t do this by ourselves. We want to be transparent and accessible.”
Throughout his career, Rogers served as an instructor for defensive tactics, firearms and Rape Aggression Defense, along with special events coordinator and accreditation manager for the department. He said these experiences provided him with a wider perspective and will drive his focus as chief.
Rogers said the main program he will be emphasizing as chief is the “See Something, Say Something” program, encouraging students to call and text when they see any suspicious activity in non-emergency situations. He also hopes to bring attention to the Operation ID program, where students allow the police department to document their valuables in case they go missing.
Rogers also hopes to bring attention to MSUPD’s Rape Aggression Defense program, which teaches self-defense to both men and women and is offered both on and off campus.
MSUPD’s jurisdiction covers university property and concurrent jurisdiction with the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office on all roads and streets located within 500 feet of university property in the county.
But Rogers said his department often works with surrounding law enforcement agencies, like OCSO and SPD. He hopes to continue to grow those relationships in the future.
“It’s been said that Starkville is MSU and MSU is Starkville,” Rogers said. “We are so intricately woven together that when something happens here, it impacts what happens there. And what happens in Starkville impacts what happens here. It is of the utmost importance that we keep those relationships growing.”
Rogers said there will probably be no drastic or sudden changes to the department under his leadership, but he is hoping the department will “tell our story” on social media more often, letting students and citizens know about the services MSUPD provides.
When MSU announced Rogers would be moving into the Chief of Police position, the university also announced that Interim Assistant Chief of Police Brian Locke would move into the role of Assistant Chief of Police in the same press release. Locke joined MSUPD earlier this year, but both received high praise from university officials.
“MSU is fortunate to have the experienced leadership of Chief Rogers and Assistant Chief Locke in the University Police Department,” Regina Hyatt, MSU Vice President for Student Affairs, said in the release. “Chief Rogers’ years of work in the MSUPD, coupled with Assistant Chief Locke’s involvement with other law enforcement agencies, brings a wealth of knowledge and commitment to positive university policing. We look forward to MSUPD, with these two leaders, continuing to take care of what matters most—the safety and security of our students, employees and visitors.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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