GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gainesville Police Department and University of Florida Police Department are continuing their partnership in Midtown, deploying a joint police detail to increase law enforcement visibility during the busy periods in the area bordering the University of Florida campus.
The Midtown detail is activated on days and at times when GPD and UFPD expect heavier activity. During those shifts, sworn officers from both agencies patrol the area and jointly respond to calls for service.
The initiative is part of an ongoing collaboration between the two departments. Gainesville Police Chief Nelson Moya and UFPD Chief Bart Knowles meet regularly to assess public safety needs and develop strategies aimed at improving security and well-being for University of Florida students and the wider Gainesville community.
“This is about putting officers where they can have the greatest impact at the time they’re most needed,” Moya said. “We’re in constant communication with our partners at the university. Our job is to maintain a high level of public safety together.”
The Midtown police detail builds on GPD’s existing Downtown Unit, which launched in 2025. The unit works with business owners and other stakeholders to identify issues, exchange information and strengthen relationships. Its four officers and sergeant answer calls in downtown Gainesville while keeping watch over pedestrian traffic, parking lots and popular gathering spots.
Midtown follows a similar model but creates an expanded role for interagency policing. Assigning GPD and UFPD officers to work side by side brings together the staffing, information and experience of both departments in one of Gainesville’s busiest student-focused districts.
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“Gainesville and the University of Florida are one community, and public safety is one of the places where that partnership matters most,” Mayor Harvey L. Ward said. “When our police departments share information, resources, and responsibility, we are better able to respond to the needs of our neighbors and students. This detail is another example of that collaboration at work.”
The joint Midtown detail reflects the understanding that student safety extends beyond campus boundaries. UF students live, work, travel and socialize throughout Gainesville, making close coordination between GPD and UFPD essential. The departments have a longstanding history of working together, as well as with other local agencies, and the detail further reinforces that coordinated approach to public safety.