The Parks and Recreation Board is calling for City Council to establish a parks safety task force to evaluate park safety, consider whether to reinstate a parks police unit and recommend ways of supporting the growing number of homeless residents dwelling in city parks.
The parks board unanimously recommended the task force at its April 24 regular meeting. The resolution stemmed from the Crime and Law Enforcement in Parks Working Group, which was established to look into constituent safety concerns.
Board Member Nancy Barnard said the working group consisted of herself, two other board members, a member of the Public Safety Commission, three Austin Police officers and one park ranger.
“As all of you know, crime has been increasing in parks in pretty much every area,” Barnard said.
She noted that the Austin Police Department once had a parks unit that was disbanded in 2020. The change was part of a broader revamp of public safety in the wake of massive demonstrations that summer over the police killings of Mike Ramos and George Floyd. One of the APD officers assigned to the working group is Justin Berry, who was indicted in Feb. 2022 after being accused of using excessive force during those protests.
“As a result, (APD) is not able to respond to things that are happening in the parks,” Barnard said. “And it’s sort of become this lawless land where there is crime and there’s not really anything we can do about it.”
However, Barnard said the working group learned that the issue was beyond its scope in terms of complexity. Therefore, members decided to recommend City Council form a task force to consider the financial implications of reinstating the parks unit, as well as improved lighting, signage and security systems.
Board Member Kathryn Flowers asked whether any nonpolice interests had been included in the working group, such as local mutual aid groups. Barnard said there had not.
“My hesitation would be I am a little concerned with the language in the recommendation,” Flowers said. “The fact that it specifically says you’d ‘address funding and reinstatement of a parks police unit’ instead of examining whether or not we might reinstate a parks unit. Just because I think it’s important to recognize that people who one could arguably say are the most harmed by overenforcement were not really represented in this process.”
Flowers said she would like to see the recommendation be more inclusive of solutions other than enforcement that might lead to improved safety in parks. “I think crime is also sort of an interesting word, right? I would think about improving safety, perhaps, instead of reducing crime.”
The new language recommends that Council “form a parks safety task force that would put much-needed resources into this effort” and be tasked with evaluating the funding and reinstatement of a parks police unit, as well as 311 and 911 calls regarding safety concerns in parks and strategies to address homelessness in city parks.
Photo by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Austin Police Department: the law enforcement entity for the City of Austin.
City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department: The city department responsible for the city's park system, rec centers, and associated infrastructure.
Parks and Recreation Board: The city’s Parks and Recreation Board members deal with the acquisition, development, improvement, and maintenance of Austin’s parks and playgrounds.
