Helping to take back a Park: A Concerned Citizen\u2019s Guide<\/b><\/p>\n
Be patient; reaching the \u201ctipping point\u201d takes time.<\/b>
\nIt can take time and lots of hard work before a park reaches the \u201ctipping point,\u201d where it shifts from having nefarious activity to safe and full of life. At some point, there will be a critical mass of positive activity, and the \u201cfeel\u201d of the park will shift. Don\u2019t give up if it doesn\u2019t happen right away.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t put yourself in danger.<\/b>
\nDrug dealers\/users and other criminals who inhabit your park can be dangerous. Don\u2019t unnecessarily risk your safety by confronting them directly. There are many other effective strategies for making your park safer.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t go it alone.<\/b>
\nLASD is our most important resource for fighting crime, but developing relationships with the Sheriff takes time and work. Get to know the beat deputies, your precinct\u2019s community affairs officer, and your precinct\u2019s captain. Go to the monthly meeting of your local Sheriff Community council, and let them know about the issues that matter to you.<\/p>\n
Be the \u201ceyes and ears\u201d of the Sheriff.<\/b>
\nNeither the Sheriff nor the park enforcement patrol can be in your park all the time. You can help by reporting any problems you see. The more you report problems, the more likely the Sheriff are to help you, as their distribution of resources is determined by the number of complaints they receive. You should also report problems about parks by calling the County\u2019s information line at any time.<\/p>\n
Be specific about the problems.<\/b>
\nLook for patterns and report them. Is there a particular time when kids hang out, when people sell or use drugs, or when dealers walk their pit bulls? Are there \u201cregulars\u201d who make trouble? More details make it easier for the Sheriff and park enforcement patrol to focus on the problem people, times, and places.<\/p>\n
Get on the agenda.<\/b>
\nGo to every monthly meeting of your local Sheriff Community council. Bring others with you. There is no better way for the Sheriff to know about the issues that matter to you. Also attend meetings of your local block watches\/clubs. Don\u2019t forget elected officials, too.<\/p>\n
Think about organizing a safety committee\/patrol.<\/b>
\nWhen done properly, having a group focused on safety issues and\/or a patrol can prove a good
\nsupplement. But you must organize such groups carefully, and in full consultation with the park
\nenforcement patrol and the Sheriff, if they\u2019re to be successful and appropriate.<\/p>\n
Source:<\/strong> Adapted for View Park from Partnerships for Parks, <\/i>a joint program of the City Parks Foundation and the New York City Parks & Recreation Department<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Helping to take back a Park: A Concerned Citizen\u2019s Guide Be patient; reaching the \u201ctipping point\u201d takes time. It can take time and lots of hard work before a park Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=844"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851,"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844\/revisions\/851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/viewpark.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}