Throughout the Jubilee weekend Selma Police Chief William Riley and his department will have the task of using a force built for 20,000 people to keep 40,000 safe.

However, Riley said with a little planning the weekend becomes less of a challenge.

“Right now with the influx of 20,000 people we have an additional shift that will be working,” he said. “That allows us to have more people out there and be much more visible so that if there are problems we can keep them from escalating.”

Managing crowds will not fall completely on the department, Riley said. Additional help is also on the way.

“We’ll have other law enforcement agencies here as well,” he said. “That helps a little bit too because I think a lot of people will recognize that there will be a heavier law enforcement presence here.”

Jubilee is unlike events in other cities, Riley said, because many of the outdoor events are limited to a small area of town. This, he said, helps the department tremendously.

“When we have people in a particular area it helps out greatly because everyone is on Water Avenue and the areas we have blocked off for the actual festivities,” he said. “When it comes to trying to manage the crowd it is a lot easier because there is a target area and we can put enough manpower there.”

Patrols are also less stressful because traffic is blocked off, Riley said. The absence of traffic in the area cuts down on a number of possible accidents.

Taking out potentially harmful factors is a big part of the department’s plan, Riley said.

“It’s all about prevention,” he said. “People are limited to certain areas they can bring their vehicles and that can really cut down on accidents.”