Policing Parks
Kansas City re-introduces park rangers to protect the land and the people
By Michael Jenkins
After a nearly two-decade hiatus, the Kansas City, Mo., Department of Parks and Recreation (KC Parks) is bringing park rangers back into the fold to assist with public safety and education.
Courtesy Of City of Kansas City, Mo
The Park Ranger Unit consists of three uniformed personnel: Chief Park Ranger Rick Castillo, Timothy Bond, and Tyler Boice. These individuals have more than 60 years of combined armed law-enforcement and/or military experience, making them well-equipped to act as the main ranger presence in the city’s 221 parks.
The park department re-established its Park Ranger Unit with two primary goals:
To improve public safety in the parks
To reduce park-related call volume to the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD).
Across the system, several parks generate significantly higher emergency-call volume and 311 requests for service. One of these parks is Swope Park, considered the city’s “crown jewel.” At 1,805 acres, it is also the largest park and houses some of the city’s premier outdoor amenities, including the KC Zoo and Starlight Theatre. Although the park attracts many patrons looking to enjoy its amenities, it also attracts a variety of illegal activities that contribute to an overwhelming call volume.
Overcoming Challenges To Uncover Opportunities
Since its inception, the unit has faced a variety of challenges, with the most significant being hiring. Currently, there are three budgeted, vacant park ranger positions. Admittedly, these positions are not competitive with comparable armed law-enforcement, military, or security officer salaries and benefits. However, since Castillo began in March 2022, the Park Ranger Unit has been working with KC Parks Human Resources to plan for the future.
The city also faces unique barriers when it comes to public safety. KCPD is a state-controlled entity and has exclusive jurisdiction within the city. Since the department is not municipally-owned, this presents challenges concerning the availability of dedicated public-safety personnel and funding for KC Parks, as well as potential barriers for effective coordination. Nonetheless, KC Parks, KCPD, and other local law-enforcement officials are working to establish better lines of communication and more effective partnerships to ensure the safety of park patrons.
Another serious challenge facing the Park Ranger Unit is the presence of homeless individuals on park property, sometimes several times a week. It is the job of the rangers who find these individuals to notify them of city ordinances prohibiting camping on park property, and provide 48-hour notice to leave. Tim Bond, KC Parks daytime on-duty ranger, recently completed Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to be better prepared for approaching and interacting with the homeless and other individuals in need of assistance in the parks. Rangers work closely with Josh Henges, the city’s Homeless Prevention Coordinator, to connect the individuals with available resources. Most of the interactions are amicable and are resolved simply by the individual removing belongings from park property. Some situations, however, become confrontational, and a few escalate to the point of requiring the assistance of other law-enforcement officers. The rangers did not anticipate this issue being such a large aspect of their role. However, as the housing crisis continues to impact moderate and low-income individuals, parks have become an increasingly common location for homeless folks to congregate. The Park Ranger Unit does not have the capacity to solve houselessness, but it does work in conjunction with other divisions to identify, connect to resources, remove, and hopefully deter the homeless from returning to park property.
In addition to public-safety training, the rangers see endless opportunities to reshape the program by acting as educators, stewards, and champions of parks and recreation values. They anticipate working closely with natural resources, community services, and recreation divisions to provide residents with information about all of the programs and services the parks offer.
Starting From Scratch
So how does a parks department create a ranger unit? First, gather input from concerned parties, including local elected officials, public-safety personnel, parks and recreation staff members, other local government staff members, and most importantly—residents and parks and recreation patrons. Use this information to develop a well-defined set of parameters for the role of a park ranger and scope of operations for the unit:
What does a park ranger unit look like and how will the rangers’ appearance and presence be interpreted by park users? For KC Parks, the unit looks and operates like armed public-safety personnel. Rangers wear olive drab, carry a sidearm and non-lethal, self-defense equipment, and are equipped with body armor.
What is their function within the parks system and the community in general? KC Rangers’ primary duties involve public safety, but this is not universal for park rangers in all instances.
What is an appropriate size for a unit? For the size of the KC Parks system, the chief ranger is interested in expanding the unit to provide adequate day, evening, and weekend coverage.
What type of equipment does a park ranger unit require? In KC, this includes 4x4 trucks with lights, sirens, and self-defense equipment.
What value does the introduction of rangers contribute to the parks system and community? This may be the most difficult question to answer, but public safety should be a component—not the exclusive function—of a park ranger unit.
Another recommendation is to plan and budget for commitment and sustainability. Examine the personnel, equipment, commodity, and potential debt-service costs of establishing and maintaining the type of unit a parks system needs. If public safety is a primary goal, consider consulting an appropriately tenured, upper-level, local law-enforcement official. It may be helpful to contact the National Park Service as well. Plan for equipment that is best suited for the size of the parks system and for each individual ranger. Create the appropriate number of positions—including supervisors and managers—to adequately provide the level of service a system requires. Ensure that rangers are adequately trained in cultural competency; diversity, equity, and inclusion; public-safety tactics; crisis-intervention training; and environmental and conservation issues.
For questions regarding the KC Parks Park Ranger Unit, contact Rick Castillo at Rick.Castillo@kcmo.org.
Michael Jenkins is a Cookingham-Noll Management Fellow for the Office of the City Manager in Kansas City, Mo. Reach him at Michael.jenkins@kcmo.org.