UF Police Chief Bart Knowles gave a presentation on topics ranging from the background of the department and physical safety measures to game day logistics at the UF Eye Opener Discovery Breakfast on Wednesday.  

Approximately 60 people gathered inside Shula’s private dining room at the University of Florida Hilton Hotel for the monthly event.  

Knowles, who was sworn in as the chief of the University of Florida Police Department (UFPD) in February, explained to the audience that UFPD is set up like a real police department in that it operates 24/7 with a dispatch center located on campus. 

The police department is among the services included in UF’s new three-story Public Safety Building on campus.  

“Really, really remarkable space,” Knowles said of the building, adding it also houses the university’s emergency management operations. “We feel so fortunate, especially where we came from. We had a cute, little old house that looked really, really neat, but it was literally falling apart.” 

In addition to housing police and emergency operations, technology feeds from throughout campus are also streamlined into the facility, allowing for enhanced real-time monitoring for campus safety. 

In referencing some physical security measures, Knowles said UFPD has a camera system that is campuswide.  

In 2023, UF completed a series of security enhancements on campus, which included the addition of nearly 2,000 video surveillance cameras.  

Knowles said today, the university has close to 3,000 or 4,000 cameras on campus.  

According to the UF Physical Security website, “university surveillance cameras are not monitored continuously under normal operating conditions but may be monitored for legitimate safety and security purposes….” 

“Some kid is goofing around and runs through a hallway. No big deal,” Knowles said. “We’ve seen multiple kids running, and they look frantic. We aren’t going to wait for somebody to dispatch us. We’re going to start dispatching officers in that particular area right away and try to mitigate whatever is going on, wherever that problem is. So, that’s kind of the idea behind cameras.” 

With students back on campus for the fall semester, it also means a new Gators football season has started in Gainesville.  

Knowles said an event of this magnitude will bring together roughly 350 law enforcement personnel and 50 fire rescue officials, give or take. 

“That’s just the public safety side,” he said. “I mean, there is hundreds of other personnel pulling that off.”  

With not just football, but many other special events also taking place across campus, Knowles said the drone threat has increased “substantially.” 

Knowles said historically, the UFPD has not had any what he called drone mitigation systems. 

“We have been emphasizing that this is a huge vulnerability,” he said. “We need that type of support. We don’t have that technology here.” 

This year, Knowles said UFPD has received drone support from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for all six home football games. 

“They provide a system that will tell us where the drone is at and where the pilot is at,” he said. “And then what I do is I take our bicycle teams, and we dispatch the bicycle teams to the location of the pilot. And they’ll be able to find the pilot; they’ll go interact with them and they’ll identify what’s going on.”  

Knowles said UFPD bought a rudimentary, small drone mitigation system that gives the department some capabilities throughout the entire year.  

“Because we also know football is not our only event where we have vulnerabilities,” he added. 

Knowles also said the UFPD has been granted approval to search for other types of technologies, noting they have some they want to purchase. 

“The problem is that legally, we as a young, local law enforcement agency can’t utilize that system,” he said, adding that this is typically designed more for military purposes. “What it does, when that drone flies in, you can build like a geofence over a space, and it will stop it.” 

Knowles said the department is working through its general counsel’s office and legislation to talk through how it can get the ability to acquire the systems. 

“We’re not trying to do anything that would be dangerous to the community,” he said. “We’re trying to do things that are going to help keep our community safe, and we need the capability to do that.”  

UF has hosted the UF Eye Opener Breakfast for more than 20 years, giving community members and business leaders the opportunity to learn about the newest research and resources impacting the Gainesville community. 

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.