For the first time in about 30 years there’s a full time law enforcement team dedicated to Dallas parks.
The Dallas Park Rangers began patrolling the city’s 380 plus parks and more than 150 miles of trails over the last several months.
Right now the team consists of only six rangers and a supervisor, but there’s already been some talk of future expansion if the program is a success.
According to a city council presentation from last year the group was created to be a proactive presence in Dallas parks; enforcing rules and city ordinances instead of just reacting when something goes wrong.
"It's really important to us to have somebody in the parks with authority to help when there are problems,” said Dallas Parks and Rec Board member Barbara Barbee.
The team also plans to serve as ambassadors to the parks much like rangers do in other large cities like Austin and Portland.
"Also be there to answer questions,” said Park Ranger Supervisor Thomas Stuhr. “Anything they have about recreation programing, natural features in the park, just all kinds of fun activities they can do while they're there."
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For decades Dallas had a Park Police force in place, but the program was absorbed by the police department in the mid 1980’s due to budgetary measures.
According to city council presentations, a wish list for future expansions to the group includes the addition of more rangers, a possible bike patrol, and video surveillance for the parks.
