Orange County Rangers Need Citation Power

Re “Orange County May Give Its Park Rangers the Power to Issue Citations,” Aug. 11: The Orange County Board of Supervisors is, at last, considering giving citation authority to the rangers whose job it is to protect Orange County parks. As someone who occasionally volunteers his time as a docent in some of our county parks, I can say this step is long overdue. Most park visitors, when informed of an infraction of park regulations, will comply with a ranger out of “respect for the uniform.” But a few scofflaws do not. These renegade types delight in defying authority.

It has been a travesty of the county’s policy to protect park resources for the benefit of all visitors that the scofflaws have been able to get away with it. With citation authority, our dedicated park rangers will, at last, be able to do the job we’ve hired them to do.

Len Gardner

Laguna Woods