Las Vegas NowI-Team: Park Police Stretched Thin During Holiday

I-Team: Park Police Stretched Thin During Holiday

Clark County has nearly 100 parks and event areas, but they have few officers to patrol them, and the numbers are shocking. It's leaving dozens of parks without any protection at all today or any day.

It's pretty simple; there are 95 parks in the valley and only 14 officers to keep them safe. And on Independence Day, there are just four people assigned to keep the peace.

It's time to play some games, fire up the grill and chill. At Baskin Park, Lolita Valdez and family are prepping for a July 4th lifted from Norman Rockwell. But in the same park a month ago, a shooting at a high school graduation party ultimately killed two people.

That was the tragic exception, but the reality has homeless people in nearly every park. In some cases, crime is up 20-percent.

"You don't know what they up to. You don't want to walk around. You don't know what they're going to do," said Valdez.

It's the same problem at Lorenzi Park. Construction is keeping out the Valdez family, "I don't want to go there."

Now, it's a ghost town with a growing number of entrenched residents.

Both Baskin and Lorenzi are city parks typically patrolled by City Marshals.

"If you leave a park unattended, all sorts of things are going to happen," said Rick Binyons with the Clark County Park Police Association.

Binyons says his fellow officers patrol 95 different parks, "14 patrol officers, three supervisors and one commander of our unit."

18 people for 95 parks, and on July 4th, only four officers for the entire city. Half the squad is at Molasky Park, going bench by bench, keeping it safe.

"We handle the same types of crimes that Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department handles," he said.

They also deal with the same threats. Because of drug deals and fights, Molasky Park is so dangerous that officers must have backup even during the day. That spreads the squad thin everywhere else.

"The officers are going from one side of town to the other side of town," he said.

Binyons blames funding, but in the tight economy, these officers aren't likely to get more support. Just the last thing Lolita Valdez wants to hear when the grill is hot and the celebration is about to begin, "We need the park police. Because if not, how are we going to feel protected?"

The park police were created to focus just on recreation areas and let Metro take care of more serious crimes in the park or anywhere else. Clark County said the park police was never meant to supplant Metro, only help out.  Right now Clark County is working with Metro in order to identify solutions to the shortfalls.

But with dwindling funding and rising crime, officers say 18 people aren't enough to protect us all.

Email your comments to Investigative Reporter Jonathan Humbert