By Rachel Silberstein
Albany
A major police union is taking aim at the state parks department for its “patchwork patrol policy” and warning visitors at historic sites and parks to remain vigilant this week and be aware of their surroundings.
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association of New York, which represents the police officers working at more than 180 parks and public venues across the state, has for years criticized the office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for dispatching what they say is an insufficient number of officers to handle crowds on holiday weekends and during peak seasons.
“Officers are being assigned to locations and venues for special events at Bear Mountain, Jones Beach and Niagara Falls while other local facilities may be left unpatrolled or require lengthy response times in the event of an emergency,” PBA New York Director Manuel Vilar said. “The simple fact is that the current staffing level is insufficient to combat the demands of the season.”
After years of calling on the agency to train and recruit more officers, the union is now pushing for legislation sponsored by state Sen. Rich Funke, R-Monroe, and Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, D-Nassau, that would merge the state’s 252 park police officers with the State Police.
Despite bipartisan support, both bills stalled in committee during this year’s lackluster session. But PBA leaders say they’re hopeful the issue will gain momentum in 2019.
“State park police risk their lives every day performing the same duties as New York State Police,” Funke said. “There’s no reason for them not to be on the same level playing field, especially when you consider how much safer our families will be by bringing the two entities together.”
A spokesman for the state parks department disputed the notion that New Yorkers should feel unsafe or that the venues are insufficiently patrolled, noting the number of officers in state parks has steadily increased from 207 to 250 in five years.
In peak summer months, the state hires an additional 125 public safety rangers and it partners with state and local law enforcement agencies to police large-scale events and respond to emergencies, according to Randy Simons, a spokesman for the agency.
“When combining park police officers and public safety rangers we are well above 350 members strong. New Yorkers should be confident that their state parks are safe and thoroughly policed,” Simons said.
But union leaders said that the attrition rate for parks officers continues to exceed recruitment for what they see as mismanagement of the police force from the parks department.
“We are deeply concerned with public safety and state parks; we are concerned about our members who are working in isolated areas,” Vilar said.
While merging the parks officers with the State Police force will cost money, the state will save money in the long run “because of the rate of attrition and cost of training police officers,” he said.
• Rachel.Silberstein@ timesunion.com • 518-454-5449