Private security guards will once again patrol Tempe parks on a temporary basis as some city leaders push to bring back a park ranger program.

The Tempe City Council recently instructed staff to extend the city’s contract with G4S, a global security services company, to provide immediate relief to parks after rising concerns from some residents about park safety and cleanliness in the last few months.

The uniformed guards — armed with guns, stun guns and pepper spray — had been patrolling Tempe parks as part of a pilot program since October 2018 but the program ended in June.

Since then, Tempe police officers have been responding to parks but have not provided the same level of service as G4S because of limited manpower and other service demands, said Tempe police Cmdr. Scott Smith, who helped oversee the program.

Smith said park staff has received work requests for vandalism, abandoned items and reports of human feces in the last three months that may be attributed to the lack of security. Crime levels likely will increase without the guards’ presence, he said.

The City Council weighed maintaining current staffing levels, continuing the G4S program or restoring the city’s park ranger program, which was eliminated in 2010 as the city cut costs during the Great Recession.

The Police Department, Human Services Department and park officials recommended continuing the private security program, which they said has helped reduce calls for service at parks and connected people experiencing homelessness with resources.

Ultimately, the council decided it wanted to go in a different direction and explore the creation of a revamped park ranger program to provide long-term security at parks.

Council members said park rangers would be more welcoming than armed security guards. Council member Lauren Kuby said it was time to rethink having armed guards at parks as the city begins conversations about what policing in the community should look like. Having armed guards sends the wrong message, she said.

City staff is expected to come back to the council with more details about the park ranger program at a later date.

G4S guards will patrol parks until the program is up and running. Details about when G4S guards will resume patrols, for how long or how much it will cost have not yet been finalized.

City sees improvements with G4S patrols

Armed security guards were first deployed to select parks in north Tempe in October 2018 to ease residents’ concerns about safety and trash in parks. G4S already provided armed security at City Hall and other municipal facilities and continues to do so today.

Though reported crime at city parks was low, there were issues with criminal damage, drug use and disorderly conduct, police said at the time. The city’s 2018 Community Survey showed that 18% of respondents were unsatisfied with safety during the day at neighborhood parks while 30% said they were unsatisfied with safety at night.

Smith said the guards’ round-the-clock presence at parks has helped change that.

From January 2019 through mid-June 2020, guards responded to more than 3,000 incidents ranging from criminal damage to medical-related, in addition to regular park checks, Smith said.

They also were critical in enforcing and educating visitors on park restrictions during this spring’s stay-home order related to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

The number of calls for service, general offense reports, street checks and arrest at parks decreased during the pilot and residents reported feeling safer in the 2019 Community Survey, he said.

Nicky Stevens, the city’s homeless solutions supervisor, said housing staff heard from clients they serve that they also felt safer with G4S at the parks. Often people experiencing homelessness are victims of crimes themselves and G4S guards were sometimes the first to respond to calls for service, provide medical care and helped connect people to services, she said.

Smith said the impact of not having full-time security at the park has been felt since the pilot ended.

Use of armed guards still being debated

Some council members said despite the program’s seeming success they felt uneasy about having armed guards in the parks.

It’s not the first time the firearm issue has come into question.

When the pilot first started, residents raised concerns that the city was deploying guards to police people experiencing homelessness who camp in the parks and questioned whether hiring a security firm rather than funding social service programs was a proper use of city resources. Residents were weary that there would be an increase in excessive force incidents and that guards wouldn’t be held accountable because they weren’t city employees.

Smith said G4S guards have never fired their weapons in the eight years they’ve been working in Tempe. Guards used a Taser or pepper spray on six occasions during the 21-month park pilot program in situations where they or another person were threatened, he said.

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Though concerns over firearm use never materialized, Kuby said some people feel less secure and unwelcome at parks with armed guards present. Council member Jennifer Adams said unarmed guards would be more approachable.

The Police Department didn’t recommend having unarmed guards at the park because there are no controlled access points, the number of visitors and the type of activity seen at the park, Smith said.

Mayor Corey Woods told The Arizona Republic that he thinks the city can do both — provide adequate security at parks without guards needing to carry firearms. He said situations that would require deadly force are rare, and that, even now, G4S is supposed to call police if an incident rises to a level where weapons could be needed.

“We can come up with an innovative solution that will allow us to have security and eyes on our parks without those doing the patrolling needing firearms,” he said.

Woods said the firearm issue is something that his police task force, which is slated to start meeting on Tuesday, can weigh in on.

Park ranger program ‘more digestible’

The end of the pilot program provided the city a chance to discuss in earnest restarting the ranger program.

There has been increased council interest in bringing back the program in the last few years.

Park rangers patrolled neighborhood parks and the city’s two desert parks from 1999 to 2010. The program was housed in the Police Department and at one time included 18 full-time park rangers.

Adams said she preferred having park rangers not only because they are unarmed but because they work closely with the Police Department, know the ins and outs of Tempe parks and have good relationships with neighbors. They are more approachable than security guards, she said.

Kuby said she was in favor of a program that is under the city’s purview, not contracted. This would allow for more training and accountability, she said.

Council member Robin Arredondo-Savage said while a park ranger program “is more digestible” for park visitors, it likely wouldn’t look the same as it did in 2010. Service needs have changed and the program should be revamped to ensure it’s adequate to respond to issues faced today and in the future, she said.

“I would not expect it to look the same today,” she said. “I do think the world is a different place. I think people, when it comes to a sense of security, are expecting certain things.”

Smith estimated it would cost about $730,000 to hire seven park rangers and a sergeant to oversee the program. It would take about a year to hire and train staff and get the program going, he said.

The council hopes the program can get started before then.

Reach reporter Paulina Pineda at [email protected] or 480-389-9637. Follow her on Twitter: @paulinapineda22.

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