Grand jury finds shortcomings in ranger program
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

A Ventura County grand jury thinks the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District not only ought to do a better job of keeping track of crimes committed on its properties but should also make those statistics available to the public in an annual report.

The recommendation is one of six included in a grand jury report released earlier this week following a monthlong investigation into the law enforcement aspects of the park district's ranger program. The program employs three full-time rangers covering 5,394 acres of parkland in Simi Valley, Oak Park and unincorporated Ventura County.

In the report, the grand jury suggests the park district "consider providing 24hour, sevenday-a-week patrol coverage of its properties and facilities so that it can better address security needs" as well as "execute a formal Memoranda of Understanding/Agreement with (Simi Valley Police Department) and (Ventura County Sheriff's Department) to provide additional patrol of district properties."

Included in the grand jury findings is the statement that "loitering by homeless persons and gang activity on district property is increasing" and therefore "frequently requires assistance from either SVPD or VCSD," an assertion, among others in the report, park district general manager Larry Peterson disagrees with.

"There isn't an increase in activity that suggests there's a problem. And there isn't anyone in the public that says there's a problem," Peterson said. "No event stands out that would trigger this (investigation)."

Though he may not agree with all of the grand jury's findings or recommendations, Peterson said, he didn't see the report as an attack on the park district, but merely as "suggestions for improvement."

"It's not like they're hitting us over the head with a hammer," he said. "We're willing to accept there's always room to improve."

Still, the report is anything but complimentary.

In addition to stating that the park district doesn't do enough to inform the public about the "mission, duties and responsibilities" of its rangers, the report concludes that this "lack of awareness" about the rangers' enforcement authority has made it difficult for the district attorney's office to successfully prosecute those who commit crimes on park property.

Peterson defended the program's enforcement capabilities, saying that park rangers have better communication lines with local law enforcement now than they've ever had in his eight-year tenure as general manager.

"Our job is to make sure that the parks are a safe and comfortable place for everyone to go . . . and we do that with the rangers and I think we do a decent job at it," he said.

Peterson pointed out that every district ranger is a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer with more than 20 years of law enforcement experience, and each carries a firearm to protect him or herself in the event of an emergency- a practice that was approved by the district's Board of Supervisors after a 1995 gangshooting incident to which rangers responded.

"Our primary mission is to provide parks and recreational activities to the public, and we're already going a step beyond most agencies by making sure our rangers are armed and are former police officers," Peterson said.

According to Senior Park Ranger Jerry DeRosa, a 15-year employee of RSRPD, current district protocol allows rangers to use their own discretion in how to respond to incidents they observe in the district's 48 parks- and when to call in police backup.

"We've got the type of background where we can pretty much judge what's going by observing people," DeRosa said. "We're not going to jump into a pool of alligators."

DeRosa said when a minor infraction is witnessed- such as a person skateboarding where it's off-limits or having a dog off the leash- a ranger will generally respond with a warning. If that's not adhered to, DeRosa said, then the ranger might issue a citation.

On the other hand, if a ranger observes what appears to be either a misdemeanor or possible felony, it's likely they'll only conduct a preliminary investigation before placing a call to Simi Valley PD or the sheriff's department.

Rangers are duly sworn peace officers in the state of California pursuant to the penal code and in Simi they carry standard issue mace, baton and handcuffs.

"We do have police powers- we can arrest people, we can fight people- but we have an agreement with Simi PD that if we get into an arrest situation, other than just an infraction, we'll call them in. We've got great communication with the police department," said DeRosa, a Simi resident.

The park district has 90 days in which to respond to the report, either accepting or rejecting the grand jury's recommendations. Peterson said he wants to address the report in a timely manner.

"I say, 'Let's do it quickly and effectively and respect the overall mission of the district.' I'm not going to take this and turn it into a 300-hour project," Peterson said. "We'll have a meeting or two, take the additional steps asked of us in the document and then make recommendations to our board of directors.

"I suspect we'll respond with some disagreements," he said.

The City Council, County Board of Supervisors, sheriff's department and D.A.'s office have also been asked to respond to the report.

To view the grand jury's entire report, visit the site at grandjury.countyofventura.org/ index.html