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Police report: park crimes largely down but assaults at parks flagged; park ranger staffing near budgeted level
Summary
Lieutenant Williams reported declines in several park crime categories compared with last year, including homicides and robberies, but said assaults in parks are ‘up about 18%.’ Park ranger staffing stood at 17 fully trained rangers of a budgeted 20; one new hire starts Monday and two applicants are in background checks.
Lieutenant Williams of the Police Department told the Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission on Oct. 27 that crime at city parks has fallen in several categories this year, while assaults at parks are an area of concern.
Williams said homicide at parks declined from one incident at the same time last year to zero this year. She reported declines in robbery, vehicle burglary, larceny and auto theft and provided numerical comparisons during the presentation: robberies were described as down from 18 to 5; vehicle burglaries at parks down from 48 to 6; larceny from 35 to 27; and auto theft from 11 to 3. Williams also said assaults at parks were “up about 18%,” and commissioners asked for park-level breakdowns to understand when and where those assaults occur.
Commissioners asked whether the department keeps park-specific records; Williams confirmed a database/spreadsheet exists and agreed to provide the commission with park-level statistics and a memo summarizing the numbers to aid budget and staffing decisions.
Staffing: Lieutenant Williams said the park ranger program is budgeted at 20 rangers and currently has 17 fully trained rangers assigned across five policing districts. One newly hired ranger begins training Monday and two additional candidates are in background checks; once they complete hiring and training, staff expect to be nearer the 20-budgeted positions. Commissioners discussed the distribution of vacancies (noted in Northeast and Southwest districts) and asked whether additional hires or redeployment could address higher-assault locations.
Commissioners and staff discussed operational responses including adjusting lighting and park hours and coordinating with leagues and community partners to reduce incidents during events. The department and parks staff said they meet bi-monthly to review park-safety concerns and that they will provide requested park-level data to the commission.
