The Metro Nashville Police Department will "take over all law enforcement duties" at Titans games and other events at Nissan Stadium this year, a "shift in policy that comes in the wake of questions over the use of private security at the venue," according to Dave Boucher of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. MNPD officials and the team in a statement said that "using Metro police instead of a mix of private security and off-duty law enforcement was a better strategy to keep fans safe." In the past, the Titans used private firms like APEX Security Group, which would "hire guards for each event." At times, those guards "were off-duty officers from Metro or other jurisdictions from around the state, but not always." The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance "fined APEX $500 earlier this year for hiring unregistered security guards on at least two occasions to work games" during the '15 season. The Titans will pay the MNPD "roughly $14,600 for every home game, where more than 50 uniform officers are expected to work." The statement noted that the Titans will "continue to use guards provided by private security companies to work in a 'non-law enforcement capacity'" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 8/13).
