Parks department updates council committee on safety plan, cameras and staffing

Deputy Director Renee Johnson briefed the Parks, Trails and Environment Committee March 3 on the Parks Department’s park safety and security strategic plan, outlining interagency efforts, equipment and infrastructure purchases, community engagement and planned investments in surveillance and staffing.

Johnson said the plan rests on four pillars — interagency initiatives, community engagement, equipment and infrastructure inventory, and safety strategy guidelines — and described ongoing coordination with Dallas Police Department, Code Compliance, the Office of Homeless Solutions and other city divisions to respond to park problems and reduce illicit activity.

The department reported a number of local action plans. At Katy Jackson Park, Johnson said staff increased law-enforcement presence, installed security cameras and loop-trail lighting and coordinated enforcement; she told the committee the initiative produced parking citations and multiple vehicle impounds during the operation. At Valley View and other parks the department said it cleared brush, removed encampments in collaboration with maintenance districts,…