TEMPE, Ariz. — For the first time in years, park rangers are once again on patrol in the City of Tempe.
Last week, more than a dozen rangers began their duty of monitoring activity at the city’s more than 50 parks and Tempe Town Lake.
“It’s that connection between the city, the patron of the park, and the resources available. It’s what the park rangers bring,” said Michael Spykes, the supervisory park ranger for the City of Tempe.
Spykes is the man in charge of the group. He said he wants the rangers to be ambassadors while keeping people safe at public parks.
“We want the rangers to be highly visible out in the parks. We want them to be approaching park patrons, and being approached by park patrons,” Spykes added.
Budget cuts in 2008 forced the city to put the program on the chopping block.
Earlier this year, the Tempe City Council approved hiring 17 park rangers.
Bringing the rangers back to the parks was a focus of Tempe Vice Mayor Jennifer Adams.
“After I was elected five years ago, I promised I would try hard to bring back the park rangers’ program, which I have,” she said.
Adams said safety was a factor in the need.
In recent years, like other cities in the Valley, Tempe has seen an increase in incidents involving drugs, alcohol, homelessness, and vandalism at its parks.
“We just want to have our parks be a safe place to take your children, your family, your friends and just have it be a positive experience,” said Adams.
For the last five weeks, rangers have been receiving training in the classroom to learn about city policies, basic laws, communications, and building community relationships.
Rangers also received training in basic self-defense, and also spent time in open lands learning more about native plants and species in Arizona.
The rangers will not carry any firearms but can issue citations for the most serious violations, but city leaders said they hope that will be a last resort.
“We are more geared toward education and knowledge,” said Tempe Councilwoman Berdetta Hodge.
Interviews are expected to continue this week to round out the staff.
Once fully staffed, the rangers will work in shifts to patrol more than 50 parks, 20 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Our larger parks will have them for now, but we’re going to build up so we can have rangers at all our parks,” said Hodge.
Officials say the rangers will still undergo a few more weeks of on-the-job training.
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