Phoenix subcommittee reviews park safety measures, trespass rules and enforcement tools

City parks officials told the Public Safety & Justice Subcommittee Wednesday they have expanded park ranger shifts, added private overnight security at selected parks, and piloted mobile camera and call‑in systems to manage trespass, vandalism and other unsafe activities.

Parks and Recreation Director Cynthia Aguilar and deputy director Jared Rogers said the department now operates an expanded urban ranger program and that their rangers lead with education but use trespass authority and citations when violations threaten public safety.

"The park rangers are our primary frontline employees charged with educating and enforcing the code of conduct," Deputy Director Jared Rogers said. He explained park rangers operate in teams: the urban ranger program grew from 12 rangers in 2018 to 44 positions as of last July, and a typical shift comprises three vehicles (six rangers) plus a ranger supervisor.

Officials described a mix of nonpunitive education contacts and escalated enforcement: rangers logged more than 20,000 education contacts in 2024, while trespass notices numbered in the thousands. Rogers listed conduct that can prompt an automatic one‑year trespass from all city parks, including possession or sale of drugs, brandishing or discharging firearms and vandalism; the department said it is reviewing whether some thresholds should be increased.

The department has added overnight contracted security at 12 parks selected for high levels of calls for service and code‑of‑conduct violations. Assistant Director Marty Whitfield said the current security vendor provides body‑worn cameras and GPS monitoring and reported more than 16,800 security contacts over the last year; Phoenix Police assisted security 139 times, Phoenix Fire 27 times and park rangers 151 times during that period.

Parks staff also described technology pilots. Solar‑powered mobile cameras with 360‑degree tilt/zoom and 15‑day storage have been deployed at Cortez, La Perdera, Cesar Chavez and Perry parks; the vendor Centricam provides live monitoring and an option to broadcast audio on site. Parks said footage recently assisted police in at least one shooting investigation.

Aguilar said the law department is drafting ordinance amendments for fall council consideration to refine the parks code of conduct and related city code chapters (city charter chapter 23; city code chapter 2, article 16; chapter 24; article 17). Draft changes under discussion include content‑neutral, time/place/manner restrictions on feeding events, a permit process for nonemergency medical care on park property, graduated penalties, and clarifying trespass durations and fines. The parks department plans to return in the fall with recommended ordinance options.

Councilmembers pressed for clearer metrics on ranger vacancies, staffing needs and the costs of restoring more in‑house capacity rather than relying on contracted security. Councilman Jim Waring urged stronger penalties and asked the department to pursue restitution where park property is damaged: "If you come to my house and just start smashing stuff, you know, I'm hoping that you're gonna get arrested. But I certainly would hope given the expense of the equipment... they're disincentivized to ever come to our park again and vandalize it," Waring said.

Parks staff said neighborhood park activation grants funded by $300,000 in ARP awards had supported 47 neighborhood organizations and activated 39 parks with more than 200 programs, and that increased TPT receipts will raise Parks & Preserve Initiative (3PI) funds in coming years; staff proposed using 3PI funds to hire additional rangers and security personnel.

The subcommittee did not take formal action on ordinance language; staff will continue interdepartmental work with the law department and return with proposals later this year.