Mercer Police announced its first annual costume contest running throughout this month and ending on Oct. 31. The event, beginning less than a month after this year’s Ducks for Decals competition, is another step in MerPo’s effort to connect with the Mercer community.
Police Chief Haley Beckham said she wants to lessen the divide between police and their communities. “For you to make a bridge to that divide, you have to be able to connect, and you connect through partnerships, through collaborations, through presence.”
Students can stop by MerPo’s station at any point during the day to show off their costume in a bid to win a coveted orange parking decal, which allows students to park in any lot on campus. So far, the department has only seen one participant, but Beckham said she expects a high turnout in the latter half of the month.
Corporal Tim Moore organized the event alongside Secretary Leigh Sloan. The pair was also responsible for dreaming up the annual duck hunt.
Beckham said that Moore “apparently put me as the judge. I think he did that because he knew I would be very neutral.”
Moore dresses in costume for various events throughout the year, making him a recognizable character from MerPo. Students, he said, look forward to seeing what he may wear for this Halloween, though his costume has not yet been picked out for this year.
“I do it for the relaxation for myself. It helps me to de-stress,” Moore said. “I’m in uniform all the time. You have continual stress on you.”
Beckham said she wants to promote “community-oriented policing.” That approach, which has been used across the country and on college campuses, involves partnerships and outreach by police forces to foster a more comfortable relationship between officers and the people with whom they interact. Beckham said that she regularly walks around campus rather than driving as a way to talk with students, employees and contractors across the university.
The Community Oriented Policing Serviceoffice, a component of the US Department of Justice, outlines partnerships with individuals and businesses as a pillar for community-oriented policing. COPS’s handbook said that this technique allows departments to meet community needs and improve the public’s perception of law enforcement.
For MerPo, this costume contest provides an opportunity to casually speak with the student body and foster interpersonal relationships, Beckham said. She added that in the future, the department would like to partner with local businesses and organizations to reward more prizes for future contests.
“We want to just be there and not just be seen as a gun and badge, but as people that want to connect and understand their concerns,” said Beckham.
Moore attempted to hold a costume contest in 2024, but he said former Chief Gary Mills did not approve the event. Moore said since Mills was serving the position temporarily, he assumed Mills did not want to make the decision for a permanent event.
Though Moore said he has become a recognizable figure during Halloween at Mercer, he isn’t a big fan of the holiday. “I hate it, I don’t like what it represents, but I don’t push my views on others, and for most people, it’s just a candy day.”
According to the Library of Congress, Halloween’s traditions trace back to the Celtic holiday Samhain, a pagan festival which people celebrated by lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to fend off ghosts. Paganism encompasses a collection of pre-Abrahamic religions that are often nature-centered and practice polytheism, the belief in multiple gods and goddesses.
Moore added he celebrates the holiday not for its original purpose, but for “dressing up, being a little silly for a little while and giving out lots of candy.”
As for future events, Beckham said she does not have any plans for 2025, but the department is open to ideas.
“We are simply people. This is just our career,” said Moore. “You can't take life serious all the time. You've got to take a break and find some fun.”
Nathaniel Jordan '29 intends to major in Journalism at Mercer and hopes to work as an investigative journalist. His hobbies include poetry, photography and home cooking, and you can probably find him around Macon shopping or walking through local parks with his wife and son.
