Rangers get on-cite training

Alicia Robinson

County park rangers may soon be armed with a new weapon to fight

violations of park ordinances: a citation book.

Orange County supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to have

county Harbors, Beaches and Parks division staff members create a

plan to make sure the county’s 53 park rangers meet state

qualifications for peace officers and train the rangers to issue

civil citations.

Rangers will be authorized to write citations for violations of

county ordinances against drinking alcohol in parks, destroying

natural resources, playing loud music and other activities that

damage county parks or inhibit people’s enjoyment of them, said Bob

Hamilton, program planning manager for the Harbors, Beaches and Parks

division.

Local facilities under county jurisdiction include the Upper

Newport Bay, Talbert Nature Preserve and Newport Harbor. In the past,

county park rangers have dealt with most civil violations by talking

to offenders, and they’ll continue to do that, Hamilton said.

“Typically, the way they’re handled is to approach someone and

advise them they are doing something that is against the county’s

ordinances, and they are asked to stop, and in all likelihood that

will still be the prevalent approach,” he said. “For the most part,

people comply.”

When they don’t comply, or if the violation is criminal rather

than civil, park rangers call local law enforcement officers, and

they’ll continue to do that as needed, Hamilton said.

In January, the Newport Beach City Council voted to give the

city’s two park rangers citation authority while continuing to focus

on resolving conflicts in city parks by talking with violators first.

Data collected by county staff members showed that with more than

10 million people having visited the county’s park facilities each

year since 2000, park rangers handled an average of 16,356 incidents a year. Law enforcement officials were called in about 250 incidents

a year, or 1.5%, and they issued about 87 citations each year.

County park rangers also will undergo background checks,

psychological testing and more stringent physical exams than they now

complete, which the state requires for government employees

classified as peace officers, said Tim Miller, operations

superintendent for the county Harbors, Beaches and Parks division.

“They haven’t [met those standards] to this point, and that’s

essential for them to do, and they certainly can’t take their role

any further, like giving civil citations, without it,” Miller said.

Rangers also will be equipped with handcuffs and pepper spray for

protection, and they’ll have additional training. The county

supervisors and a majority of rangers opted against giving park

rangers authority to write misdemeanor citations and carry batons,

Miller said.

The most common park violations are people drinking alcohol,

unleashed dogs and skateboard or scooter use, county records show.

Miller will develop a plan to train rangers so they can begin writing

citations, and he’ll bring that plan to county supervisors for

approval within six months.

The county estimates it will cost about $180,000 for additional

testing, equipment and salary costs, but fees for training are yet to

be determined.

Civil citations come with fines of $100 for a first offense, $200

for the second citation and $500 for the third, but the county isn’t

expecting a windfall, Hamilton said.

“There’s absolutely no intention to go into the citation

business,” Hamilton said. “That’s not what this is about. It is not

our goal to give citations, but to have the ability to give citations

is believed to be a tool toward achieving greater compliance.”