Jackson City Council considers option for securing city parks. See what it is
At a Wednesday budget hearing, Jackson City Council members discussed and agreed on finding funds to bring back a park ranger unit within the Jackson Police Department for next year.
The idea was brought up while the council was talking with Ison Harris, the city's director of parks and recreation, about his department's budget for the next fiscal year.
Harris said he would love to have some sort of park security, but couldn't find room in the parks and recreation budget to make it happen. Parks such as Grove Park, Battlefield Park and Forrest Hills Park have been dealing with problems such as theft and vandalism for years now, he said.
Overall, the parks and recreation department is in charge of maintaining the city's 57 parks.
"We've got to save as much as we can in our budget. That's the game plan," Harris said. "But we've got to make our parks safe."
Council members agreed that securing the city's parks should be a priority.
"For many years we had them and at that time our parks were safer," Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell said in an interview. "Park rangers add a lot more value to what's known as community policing. We already know there's a shortage of police officers, but having these park rangers actually in the parks, around the parks and near the communities around the parks, it actually gives more presence to JPD. It gives a perception of safety and people are less likely to commit crimes when they see police officers in your neighborhoods."
Grizzell has been pushing to improve the city's parks in recent months, especially Grove Park, which is in his ward. Grizzell and Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley both said the money would be going into next year's city budget.
To have adequate security, the council said it would need $350,000 to hire four or five park rangers, as well as $75,000 for 10 cameras to place in parks around the city.
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"I think that's a unit we need badly," Ward 6 Councilman and Council President Aaron Banks said during the budget hearing.
Jackson's Chief of Police Joseph Wade was visibly excited about the prospect to provide park rangers when asked by the council as he joined the hearing. He considered it a good idea, especially because he thought veteran police officers who have left the department would be interested in coming back to fill the positions.
"I fully support the park rangers," Wade told the council. "I think it's so needed and I'm excited about using it as a recruitment tool to get some veterans to come back as well."
Wade said he would want to hire four or five park rangers, using only officers with over two years experience for the job. Each park ranger would be assigned to the city's four precincts. They would be in charge of patrolling and responding to calls for the parks, therefore keeping regular patrol officers on city streets.
JPD officials said they couldn't find when the park ranger unit was originally created. The last officer left the unit in 2018.
Council are in agreement to cut the 275 positions the police department is budgeted for to 270 and use that money saved from cutting those five positions to pay for the rangers. Jackson's Chief Financial Officer Fidelis Malembeka said the administration could look into applying for grants to help pay the expense as well.
While the police department is experiencing shortages — the department currently has 240 officers on staff — Wade said he is confident he will be able to get that number to 250 by the end of September. He told council members that he knew three retired police officers who could be interested in returning to the department to work as park rangers.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS City Council agrees on funds to bring back park rangers
