Security in Confederate Park
On Tuesday, Nov 1st, the SPAR parks task force met with Parks and Recreation, DSI security, and JSO. The subject at hand was park security, specifically in Confederate Park. Anyone who has lived in Jacksonville for more than a few minutes knows that the park has crime issues, and has for a very long time.
Since the inception of the taskforce, we have been working on many fronts to simply find answers to questions that have never been asked of the right people. One such question was, what, exactly, is the job of the security officer that sits in the park. A guard who is ultimately paid with taxpayer money
Our main focus was to find out what was expected of that position. DSI has now committed to not only giving us an exact list of what their job is, but they will, at our request, work to enforce the policies we have asked for.
For starters, we have asked that the guard simply enforce park rules. This means no alcohol, no camping, no illegal activity, and no pan handling. Simply enforcing these rules would make a huge difference in our neglected little park. We have also asked that the guard make a reasonable effort to look just outside the fence. It has been clearly left to the bad element in the past. If the guard simply called JSO when he sees feedings, prostitution, or drug activity, this would again make an enormous difference.
In a perfect world this would be easy to enforce and ensure is happening. Sadly, this isn’t a perfect world. Even with a written policy, the trick will be getting the guards to actually adhere to said policy. However, the big difference is that with a policy in place, an issue can be made of the lack of enforcement. We will KNOW that rounds are to be made at every hour to every corner of the park. This means that the people who sit along Hogans Creek and drink beer should be asked to leave; litterers should be asked to pick up their trash. If they are not, we now can clearly hold that guard, and DSI responsible.
This is where you, the community come in. There needs to be a concerted effort to hold these guards accountable. If you are in the park and you see someone with a bottle of beer, go ask the guard. If the guard blows you off or doesn’t take any action, email me with the time and date of the problem at downtownparks@gmail.com, and I will contact the supervisor. We can make these rules stick with a little bit of effort. If these policies and rules are enforced, it will not take very long for our crime problem to move somewhere else.
When there is a written policy in place, it will be posted here. But it will all be for not if we don’t get in there and see what the problems are. If the guard wont act or your don’t have time to confront him, call JSO at 630-0500 and tell them the problem.
Most importantly, take your dogs for walks in the park, or pass by after dinner or on your way to work. It only takes a minute to see what’s going on and make a note of it.
Our main focus was to find out what was expected of that position. DSI has now committed to not only giving us an exact list of what their job is, but they will, at our request, work to enforce the policies we have asked for.
For starters, we have asked that the guard simply enforce park rules. This means no alcohol, no camping, no illegal activity, and no pan handling. Simply enforcing these rules would make a huge difference in our neglected little park. We have also asked that the guard make a reasonable effort to look just outside the fence. It has been clearly left to the bad element in the past. If the guard simply called JSO when he sees feedings, prostitution, or drug activity, this would again make an enormous difference.
In a perfect world this would be easy to enforce and ensure is happening. Sadly, this isn’t a perfect world. Even with a written policy, the trick will be getting the guards to actually adhere to said policy. However, the big difference is that with a policy in place, an issue can be made of the lack of enforcement. We will KNOW that rounds are to be made at every hour to every corner of the park. This means that the people who sit along Hogans Creek and drink beer should be asked to leave; litterers should be asked to pick up their trash. If they are not, we now can clearly hold that guard, and DSI responsible.
This is where you, the community come in. There needs to be a concerted effort to hold these guards accountable. If you are in the park and you see someone with a bottle of beer, go ask the guard. If the guard blows you off or doesn’t take any action, email me with the time and date of the problem at downtownparks@gmail.com, and I will contact the supervisor. We can make these rules stick with a little bit of effort. If these policies and rules are enforced, it will not take very long for our crime problem to move somewhere else.
When there is a written policy in place, it will be posted here. But it will all be for not if we don’t get in there and see what the problems are. If the guard wont act or your don’t have time to confront him, call JSO at 630-0500 and tell them the problem.
Most importantly, take your dogs for walks in the park, or pass by after dinner or on your way to work. It only takes a minute to see what’s going on and make a note of it.
posted by DowntownParks at 7:58 PM
1 Comments:
Any progress on the parks? I am hoping that one day Confederate Park will be somewhat like Central Park - a green oasis to look forward to in a real city...
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