PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After a rise in gun violence, KOIN 6 News wanted to know if Portland’s recent response of investments in park rangers have made a difference in improving public safety.
Dawson Park, which has been significantly impacted by shootings in recent years, will be now be patrolled by park rangers on a daily basis.
After a year of unprecedented violence playing out in public spaces, city leaders brought on more park rangers.
Portland Commissioner Carmen Rubio has championed this idea of park rangers preventing gun violence.
“What park rangers do is create an atmosphere of more safety,” Rubio said.
However, some Portlanders said they are skeptical.
Rubio explained “well, my reaction is that park rangers have a role to play just like community activists, community leaders, community-based organizations, police, fire, and all of us at the city. So, no one entity is going to be responsible for public safety.”
During patrols, rangers look for problems and interact with families.
According to the city’s records, in the last year, Portland park rangers had 26,000 positive interactions, issued 8,000 park violations and referred about 2% of calls on to police and fire.
While they’re proud of the work rangers are doing, supervisors say it’s important to manage Portlander’s expectations.
There’s currently funding for 24 full-time park rangers with 18 hired so far. Plus, 15 seasonal park rangers mainly for the summer season.
These few dozen rangers are responsible for patrolling more than 250 parks, totaling 12,000 acres.
“Think about the fact that all those folks are spread out over 24-hour 7-day a week period,” said Sofia Chavier-Caamano, the security manager for Portland Parks and Recreation.
Commissioner Rubio added “we’re currently advocating in the budget for $755,000 so that we can have more rangers, six to be exact, that will give more comprehensive coverage to parks and that includes parks like Dawson Park.”
Rangers also partner with the city’s Office of Violence Prevention to put on family-friendly events, do outreach to neighbors after a traumatic shooting and provide a presence around people who are mourning at memorials.
“And make sure they provide resources, supports, intensive case management, whatever the need is so we can make sure the long-term impact of trauma is reduced, so we can break the cycle of violence,” Nike Greene, director of the Office of Violence Prevention, said.
As the city shows up, Greene hopes people will too.
“Let’s join back into every Portland space because the power of presence is a way to regulate and deescalate. It’s a level of transparency and accountability to each other’s behavior,” Greene said.
When you see a flyer for a community walk, run, bike ride, or barbeque in a park near you, Greene implores you to be the presence in the park you want to see.
Rangers are not at every park every day, however they focus on high density and high-need parks like Dawson, Columbia, Gateway, and Washington more regularly.
If you see a problem in your park, you can call the park ranger dispatch line at 503-823-1637 or email at rangercallcenter@portlandoregon.gov
It’s open 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and they respond to calls for service in real time.