Sometimes police calls regarding Evansville City Parks are about vandalism, sometimes they’re about drug use. Sometimes adults start an illegal fire in Bayard Park.
“Someone wanted a fire, so they put some charcoal briquettes up against one of our old growth trees and and it was during the burn ban. So it was real special," said Bellemeade/ Bayard Park Neighborhood Association President Stephanie Gibson at the Monday night meeting.
The Evansville Police Department now has six officers fully dedicated to patrolling city parks responding to complaints and trying to solve problems. They aren't responsible for answering regular city calls.
Lt. Matt Karges oversees these officers and patrols parks himself and attended the meeting to introduce the program to the neighborhood and field questions, such as whether the posted parks hours can be changed to promote safety.
It’s been three weeks since the Evansville Police Department began this program, and the first time certain officers mostly only respond to calls related to parks.
“So there'll be three officers on day shift three officers on second shift that do nothing but respond to patrol or park matters," Karges said. "They patrol directly in the parks, and the responsible follow up investigations or any type of concerns. And that's their daily job. Their '9 to 5' is just the parks.”
This could include walking, driving or even patrolling on an ATV.
Karges said loitering after hours is one issue commonly reported, but also drug use, vandalism and adults misusing park property.
He said they’re focusing on the 40 parks with playgrounds and picnic areas. He said patrolling parks are important because they can be the "face" of the city.
“We show that we care about the parks and we're not just leaving it to letting by doing please. Everybody will see a difference — tourists and visitors, people that live here will be able to enjoy the parks," he said. "But I believe that's why they're so important because they're there. They're a visual image of the City of Evansville. And we want to make that visual visual, as nice as we can.”
Karges said prior to this, officers would respond to calls to the parks, but none were dedicated specifically to patrolling them.
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