The ideal park is supposed to be a place to play, relax, exercise or simply allow the body and mind to wander while reconnecting with the natural world. Parks are inherently a bit wild, unmonitored and disconnected from the bustling cities and towns that surround them. Unfortunately, the inherent seclusion of these places can invite all kinds of trouble — from partying and vandalism to theft, assault or worse.
In March of this year, Raleigh, N.C., decided it was time to take the next step toward securing its parks. The city invested in 86 cameras to install throughout the city’s 10,000 acres of parks and green spaces. Resident reactions were mixed on the new additions, with some saying they’d seen crime happening in the parks and were glad for the additional security, while others said the cameras are an invasion of privacy in areas where people often go to be alone and get away from it all.
To be sure, cameras are one tool in a parks department’s safety and security toolkit, but there are many other effective strategies that parks professionals use to keep recreating citizens safe.
Activation
Chris Nunes is chief operating officer for The Woodlands Township outside of Houston, Texas. In his capacity as COO, Nunes provides oversight for the Parks and Recreation Department, among other municipal entities. He agrees that cameras can be effective in preventing all kinds of mischief, but at present Woodlands Township hasn’t had to resort to surveillance technology to keep its parks safe. One of the key priorities for Nunes is ensuring that any park is well activated.
“If I’m able to activate a park with programs and services, and hopefully keep it clean and well maintained, that is going to drive the negative behavior out,” says Nunes.
One of the ways Woodlands Township has been able to do this is by creating infrastructure that is conducive to activation. Nunes credits a mentor for teaching him this lesson. “Joe Turner, who was the former director of Houston Parks and Recreation, taught me a very, very valuable lesson,” Nunes says. “He said, ‘Chris, if you want park vandalism to go down, put a walking track through your park, because once you have a walking track in your park, you get the neighborhood, some of the older people, some of the families coming out there. And you now have a force multiplier of your park rangers, because you got more eyes on that park.”
Nunes says Woodlands Township’s Northshore Park — considered the town’s crown jewel — has been busier than ever, which equates to less problematic behavior from visitors. “It’s actually seven acres on the water,” explains Nunes. “There are days that you would think we have a Fourth of July event going on, but it’s just a normal day at the park. I’ve been in this community for 18 years, and I cannot remember one incident report that we’ve had down there for vandalism or graffiti.”
Nunes says the community is one of his department’s greatest assets, and many of those community members are part of a park ranger unit that monitors the parks.
“These folks are non-certified, so they do not carry guns, but they are the eyes and ears in the park about what’s going on,” says Nunes. “We have two units — one for our parks and one for our town center, and they go from 6 a.m. to midnight. They’re out in the parks, talking to the residents, and basically discouraging negative activity just by their physical presence. They’ll also do things like small repairs, where they might see some tagging, and they’ll paint over it very quickly. So, we take the joy out of the taggers and the purpose of why they’re doing it away. I mean, we do it quickly, so they really don’t get to see their tag.”
Personnel
Vandalism is one of the most common headaches for parks professionals, and it can be mitigated through a swift response that leaves offenders feeling less than satisfied with the results of their actions.
Eric Lopez, district superintendent for the Parks and Recreation Department in the City of Fort Worth, says his city is currently working on a partnership with local police that would assign two officers to each of six parks districts, significantly elevating the visibility of law enforcement. The parks department also has a graffiti abatement program that is particularly effective in responding to and preventing graffiti in the city’s parks.
“We have a crew assigned to graffiti abatement,” says Lopez. “They have a specific protocol for how to respond to things, and they’ve actually created proactive arts initiatives that allow for art to be created in the parks that isn’t full of explicit language and doesn’t damage the facilities or anything like graffiti would.”
When graffiti does happen, Lopez says that the responding abatement teams are fast enough that the vandalism isn’t seen by many. “The response time is within the day, and most of the time they’ll be there within the hour,” says Lopez. “They have a great customer service system, and they respond to those very quickly. Sure, it might be a bit longer if it’s in some of those remote areas of the city, but overall it’s very quick.”
Lopez says the abatement team has even been investing in an outreach program to educate the community. “They’re going to communities, and they’re identifying areas where they can incorporate an educational component on prevention,” says Lopez. “They do presentations, and they’re also bringing an education component, where they bring in artists and they’ll identify certain areas and help them create art in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and isn’t offensive or anything like that. It’s really a way to lean more toward preventing these practices than constantly reacting to them. But when they need to react, they’re super quick.”
Comprehensive approach
While some parks departments may install cameras and other high-tech security measures, those solutions are almost always accompanied by a comprehensive approach that includes a variety of strategies for keeping parks safe, secure and well maintained.
Michael McCarty, executive director for the Glenview (Ill.) Park District, says his community made a number of improvements last fall to its safety and security plans, including the installation of cameras in all of the city’s high-use parks — specifically those that have restrooms, shelters and/or fieldhouses.
But Glenview didn’t stop there. The district has park ambassadors that patrol the parks seven days a week through the spring, summer and fall seasons. McCarty says these people are not police, but they work closely with officers.
As a particularly creative solution, Glenview also partnered with a large retailer that has facilities adjacent to the district’s largest sports park. The retailer provides 24-hour security with their staff and helps report and respond to any problems that might arise.
“We have also installed AED units at all of our athletic fields, and we’ve provided training for all our staff and the sports groups on safety issues,” says McCarty. “On top of that, we have added lighting and redesigned landscaping to enhance visibility and safety.”
Just days after Raleigh officials flipped the switch on their new network of cameras, a woman was assaulted on a trail in one of the city’s parks. The incident was reported by a witness, and police responded, but the crime took place in an area without cameras. So, while camera monitoring might be an effective deterrent in some cases, there’s no doubt that technology must be used in concert with a host of time-tested safety and security strategies that have been honed over decades by seasoned parks and rec professionals. Not surprisingly, most of these strategies are centered around engaging citizens and ensuring they feel a sense of ownership and pride in their local parks and communal gathering areas.
