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Lieutenant reports park arrests and citations; justice Levitt Park most active
Summary
Lieutenant Jonathan Burdett told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission that Justice Levitt Park saw the most park-related enforcement activity, with 'remaining in park after hours' a leading incident citywide; the department will consider increased patrols at problem sites.
Lieutenant Jonathan Burdett of the Department of Public Safety told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission on April 7 that Justice Levitt Park recorded the most enforcement activity in recent reports and that ‘remaining in park after hours’ is the top violation across multiple wards.
Burdett presented year-to-date totals and percentage changes by ward, saying Ward 3’s totals showed a decline driven by fewer park violations while Ward 2 saw a large increase in traffic-related citations near the Kellogg’s area. “For Ward 2, it’s gonna be mostly focused on more traffic right now… the top location is gonna be Kellogg’s area year to date with 19 citations or arrests,” he said.
During questions, Commissioner Gabbard asked about vehicle speeding inside parks. Burdett said the default speed limit in city parks is 10 miles per hour unless otherwise posted and offered to request increased patrols at specific properties: “What I could do is… ask for an increase in patrols of Children’s Memorial Park to address that issue,” he said.
The report included ward-by-ward figures (examples cited by Burdett): a 6% year-to-date increase in total arrests and citations citywide in one ward, a 93% increase in citations in Ward 2 attributed to increased traffic patrols, and a 21% decrease in Ward 3 tied to fewer park violations. The lieutenant concluded by listing upcoming community policing events and asking if commissioners had questions.
The commission did not take formal action on the report; Burdett said staff would pursue targeted patrols if requested by commissioners.
