Park Panel OKs More Power for Rangers

The Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission voted unanimously Friday to recommend that rangers in Griffith Park and other city recreational areas be given the same law-enforcement powers as police officers--but not be allowed to carry guns.

The police officer status, if granted by the City Council, would enable a ranger to make an arrest without fear of being sued.

The only law-enforcement power park rangers no have is that they can issue parking tickets.

The commission vote came after about seven months of urging from community groups and local officials who said that crime in the city’s parks is rapidly increasing and rangers are nearly powerless to control it.

Proposal to Boost Force

The recommendation will go to the City Council’s Finance Committee, which also will decide whether to back a proposal to increase the size of the ranger force from 24 to 44.

Sheldon Jensen, assistant general manager of the Recreation and Parks Department, argued that rangers witnessing crimes must either report the incidents to police or “take the law into their own hands by making a citizen’s arrest.”

The proposal also would give rangers the authority to make arrests in some cases when they had not witnessed the incident.

“Unlike police officers, if rangers make a mistake in the arrest procedures or arrest the wrong person, they can be sued,” Jensen said. “We currently require them to control crime, but we’re not giving them the tools to control it.”

Lauri Smith, spokeswoman for about 20 homeowner and park-user groups, called the 4-0 vote “a stunning victory.”

Supporter ‘Astounded’

“I was beginning to think it was a lost cause, and now I’m astounded,” Smith said.

The original motion brought before the commission by Councilwoman Peggy Stevenson asked that the rangers be given full peace-officer status, which would include the right to carry guns, a right that was opposed by the four commissioners and Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

“We want to make it clear that we are against giving rangers guns . . . but it’s clear they need more authority,” Commission President Stanley Sanders said after the vote on the compromise proposal.

Police have said that crimes such as robbery, car burglary, assault and lewd conduct are on the rise, especially in Griffith Park, but officers frequently cannot respond quickly enough to catch the culprits.

Gates is studying an alternative to giving the rangers peace-officer status, possibly by creating a special unit of police officers for park patrol. He will report on his plan to the Finance Committee later this month, Sanders said.