[Scan-DC] Park Police at lowest staff level since 1988

[Alan Henney]

http://www.examiner.com/a-657690~Park_Police_at_lowest_staff_level_since_1988.html

Park Police at lowest staff level since 1988
Scott McCabe, The Examiner
Apr 5, 2007 3:00 AM (20 hrs ago)
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON - Less than a year after a series of brutal attacks
blemished the National Mall, U.S. Park Police head into the peak
tourist season with the fewest number of officers in nearly two
decades, according to labor representatives.


Morale in the police department has plummeted along with the size of
the force, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility Executive
Director Jeff Ruch said.

Budget shortfalls forced the Park Police last year to cancel recruit
training and halve feed rations for mounted patrol horses. Motorcycle
officers had to buy their own engine parts so they could escort
President Bush. Officers are being removed from other national parks
to patrol the National Mall and other D.C. sites, Ruch said.

“The current state of affairs is a lose-lose situation,” he said.

Park Police could not be reached Wednesday. The number of sworn
officers dropped to 587 in February, the lowest force level since 1988
and well below the 800 figure the National Park Service recommended in
2000.

Former Chief Teresa Chambers warned about the staffing shortfalls in
2003 and was subsequently fired. She has filed an appeal with the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Last summer, at least 12
tourists were robbed and assaulted at gunpoint under the shadows of
the Washington Monument and the Museum of Natural History, including a
17-year-old girl who was raped at gunpoint. An intensive
investigation, led by Park Police detectives, resulted in the arrest
of five young men who have since pleaded guilty.

The Park Police primarily patrols 24,000 acres of federal parklands
including the National Mall, Rock Creek Park and the George Washington
Parkway.

smccabe at dcexaminer.com

Examiner