At the last meeting of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, staff presented a report entitled “Park Ranger Service Model - Phase 1 Report Back”. This report recommended increased budget for the Park Rangers program and to ‘Create new positions with Peace Officer status to provide enhanced by-law enforcement support’.
The Ranger program began in 2000 as the front-line ambassadors in parks and public spaces. They support a broad range of events and activities, and assist with issues such as:
• Providing visitor information and wayfinding
• Educating the public about park regulations such as the smoking, dogs on leash, and cycling bylaws
• Enforcing the Park Board By-laws
• Supporting permitted events and filming
• Working with Vancouver Police, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service, BC Ambulance, and other departments and agencies on issues found in parks
• Dealing with homelessness as it impacts parks, and connecting individuals with support services
• Responding to park concerns reported through 3-1-1 and VanConnect services
• Park Rangers patrol parks and beaches throughout Vancouver. A seasonal ranger station is located at Second Beach, next to the concession.
However, Park Rangers are not police and Park Board acknowledges that the public should call 9-1-1 if there is an emergency that requires police, fire, or ambulance.
With an increase of more than 1,153% of cases from 2015 (1,909 cases) to 2020 (22,010 cases) there is definitely a need to increase the number of Rangers. Social issue related cases such as mental health, drug addiction, and temporary structures in parks, rose by 40% in 2020, and are forecast to continue rising during 2021.
The call for enhanced powers is because the Vancouver Police do not regularly attend to Park by-law infractions unless they are called by the Rangers, and then generally only if there is a special need for them to be there. Excessive noise, camping, feeding wildlife, or smoking in parks are not usually deemed important enough for attendance.
The recommendation to create new Peace Officer positions would see some Rangers elevated to the level of Police Constable. Police Constables are police officers. They have all of the same rights and responsibilities of a police officer. What was not known was whether that would mean they could carry handcuffs, batons, or even a fire arm, or if they would have the right of holding and arresting individuals, and using force to do so.
The Commissioners unanimously approved an increase of 1.8 million dollars to hire more Rangers, but by a 5-2 vote amended the recommendation to explore the creation of new positions with ‘enhanced bylaw enforcement authority’ as part of the regular full-time workforce, rather than to move immediately to creating Peace Officers. I was one of those who supported the amendment.
I understand the need for our Park Rangers to be able to enforce park by-laws but I am not sure that elevating them to police constables is necessarily the right move. I want to ensure that we make the right changes, and so need to know what the options are.
In Vancouver we already have the RCMP, the Vancouver Police Department, and the Transit Police. Do we need another police force? Could Park Rangers enforce our by-laws without being Peace Officers/Constables? Could they be trained as ‘Special Constables’ with very specific authority?
Before we move to another level of policing, I need to know what the cost of training would be. I need to know what the cost in equipment, wages, and professional development would be. I want to know what the alternatives are. Do we need to change provincial legislation or could the creation of ‘Special Park Constables’ with limited powers be done under current regulations? What do the local police feel about another layer of policing within their jurisdiction? What does the Indigenous community think? What does the BIPOC community think? What do queer, trans, and Two-Spirit folks think? What do marginalized communities think?
It would be easy to say yes let’s create a Park Police to enforce our bylaws; it would be irresponsible to do so without knowing the costs and consequences of such a decision.
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