Plan suggests ways to raise productivity of the too-few park police

By Joe Schoenmann

Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Parks are popular — especially on those days when it isn’t so hot outside that the air hurts. And they’re perhaps more popular during tough economic times, when cheap entertainment is all that some can afford.

Indeed, calls to the county’s park police, who are responsible for covering 102 county parks, are increasing at time when taxpayer dollars aren’t available to hire more officers.

These officers must travel an area larger than New Jersey to patrol the parks.

The Garden State has 91 park police. Clark County employs 18.

Over the past five months, park police, county staff, Metro Police and residents met to hammer out a plan to more adequately cover county parks. On Tuesday, the County Commission will receive that plan.

What are the high and low points of current park police coverage?

Division Commander Lt. Roy Michael said the average park police response time is 26 minutes. That’s an average, so some responses are faster, and some take longer.

Patrolling parks in Searchlight, Logandale and Bunkerville is all but impossible, he said. “We can’t get out there.”

Officers from other jurisdictions will answer a call at parks in those outlying communities if they have time, he added.

What kind of calls are park police fielding?

Here are the numbers: Total calls for serious crimes — not including traffic violations, loud music, animal complaints or permit disputes — increased from 1,535 in 2006 to 2,524 in 2008.

One of the biggest increases was in narcotics calls, which rose from 59 in 2006 to 214 in 2008. Other noteworthy increases included assault and battery, from 78 to 131; person with a gun, from 35 to 53; assault with a deadly weapon, from 11 to 26; and indecent exposure, from 27 to 49.

The county says there’s no money to hire more park police. So what does the Park Safety Strategic Plan suggest is the solution?

In the short term, the plan’s authors want to increase partnerships with Metro Police, the Clark County School District and municipalities to help monitor the parks. During the short and long terms, they want to seek grants to fund more officers and equipment such as software so laptop computers in police vehicles can access public safety databases.

Park police will look to reduce response times, increase arrest rates and reduce crime, all while further cutting overtime costs.

Wouldn’t the department really rather have more officers?

“We’re not asking for helicopters or super-fast-speed bikes,” Michael said. “We’d just like the personnel to cover these parks. We hope our plan works to do that.”

The report is available on the county’s Web site, accessclarkcounty.com.

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Clark County is still struggling to make ends meet after the Legislature voted to take about $180 million from county coffers over the next two years.

Will the county’s finances get better any time soon?

Some are predicting things will get worse for the county before they get better.

Addressing a group of service employee union members Thursday, Yolanda King, the county’s budget and financial planning director, said because of devalued commercial properties, the county will see property tax revenue decline in fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, 2010.

What does the county expect when it begins fiscal 2011?

The county will begin the year with a $115 million budget deficit.

“Oh, we’re (expletive),” said one county honcho. “With what the Legislature did to us and with the economy, it’s just not good.”