When Ames explodes into a metropolis this weekend, swarms of police officers and students will be on the lookout for danger.

For the fourth year, Veishea’s peer security is working in conjunction with the Ames Police Department, the Iowa State Department of Public Safety and other security agencies across the state. Mike Heller, Veishea peer security coordinator, said there are 55 students trained as peer security officers to work 20 hours this weekend.

“Peer security was created as a response to occurrences in the past,” he said.

The idea behind it, Heller said, is students warning students.

“We’re not an authority figure; we’re Iowa State students looking out for Iowa State students,” he said.

According to Heller, peer security officers have been trained by several agencies.

“If we send them out to do an important task, it’s important that they’re trained properly,” said Ames Police Officer Shawn Phipps.

The peer officers were trained in self-defense by the ISU Hapkido Club. DPS and the Ames Police Department presented seminars on crowd behavior, situation response, laws and penalties, witnessing crimes, documenting facts and radio procedures. The United States Army Corps of Engineers in Saylorville talked with the peer officers about conflict management, and the Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines trained them in first aid procedures.

A handful of peer security officers will also be working as a part of one of three party response teams, which are coordinated by DPS. The teams consist of three students and one representative from the Dean of Students Office, Heller said. They will work in coordination with Ames Police Department and DPS in responding to complaints about off-campus parties.

Heller said if the police get a call from a concerned citizen about an off-campus party, one of the party response teams will be dispatched to the party. It will then warn people there that the police have been notified and violations may occur if the party continues do disrupt others.

“The big thing we do is try to create community awareness,” Heller said. “Basically, it’s to make people aware of the consequences that if students don’t behave in a responsible manner, Veishea could be canceled.”

Phipps said the peer security is to serve as a liaison between students and the police department.

“It’s important that there’s a whole school of thought that people properly trained can be pro-active and uphold the integrity of the weekend,” she said.

In addition to the peer security, there will be more than 75 officers throughout the city at all times, said Ames Police Sgt. Jim Robinson. The Ames Police Department, DPS, the Story County Reserve Force and the Iowa State Highway Patrol will be the agencies working as security for Veishea.

Jerry Stewart, associate director of DPS, said the hours for officers and staff are extended to 12-hour days this weekend.

“We’re having more officers on the streets, more student reserve officers and increased campus patrol,” he said. “We’re using grant money to employ several deputies from Story County to assist our officers to primarily conduct alcohol enforcement.”

Robinson said there will also be motor and foot patrols, especially in the Campustown area.

“Officers will also be in plain clothes working undercover checking for bootlegging activities,” he said.

In case of serious occurrences, DPS has a juvenile detention-like area in the Armory where juveniles will be taken into custody, he said.

There will be more officers working at night, but that depends on the prominence of the events taking place, such as the parade, Stewart said.

“We’re hoping people will party in a safe manner and have a good time,” he said.