A random stabbing in Point Defiance Park shook Tacoma. Metro Parks is upping security | Opinion
Tacoma’s parks are a sanctuary for many who live here. They are treasured open spaces where we connect with nature, recreate and gather with friends and family. Our team at Metro Parks Tacoma never takes for granted the privilege or responsibilities we have for stewarding these public spaces to be safe, accessible and welcoming.
Like the rest of our community, we experienced the gamut of emotions brought about by the random act of violence a woman experienced when attacked at Point Defiance Park on Feb. 10.
We all understand safety isn’t guaranteed anywhere, but when crime seeps into these spaces that we hold as sacred retreats from daily life, it disrupts our feeling of security and comfort. It can make us question the spaces we choose to be in and how to be in them.
There’s no easy solution to securing our city or our parks, and we recognize safety means different things to different people.
As we work to ensure that visitors are focused on the experiences that bring the serenity, health and well-being they seek when visiting us, in the background our team is actively assessing and responding to security needs on a daily basis.
We don’t often talk about this aspect of our work, but it feels like an important topic to share with you as we reflect on recent events and reaffirm that safety is critical to our mission as a park district. We want you to know how we are enhancing our security protocols to address response levels and identify improvements to provide safety in our more than 75 parks and facilities.
Although each park has specific and occasionally dynamic security needs, our approach to public safety is a three-tiered system equally applied to every property.
Our first tier is Park Guides, who not only serve as eyes and ears to support compliance, but also provide education, serve as a public presence and offer engagement opportunities and activities that help activate our park spaces in ways that help displace negative activities.
The second tier is a contracted security firm, which secures our parks, responds to after-hours calls and helps facilitate support when situations require emergency response or enforcement.
The third tier involves our community’s emergency responders, the professional police, firefighters and medics who take the lead when incidents pose a life-safety risk.
Still, we grapple with how we can do more with the resources we have to meet our mission to provide world-class parks, innovative programming and connection to nature, and to do so in a way that people feel safe.
A few of the actions we’ve taken in response to last month’s attack include installing portable cameras, increasing patrols, listening to community concerns and continuing our analysis of safety measures and response protocols.
We are working on plans to hire more Park Guides, which will provide increased visibility and engagement on weekends. We will continue providing private security patrols in parks and working with Tacoma police. We will expand public safety campaigns and keep exploring opportunities to collaborate in solving some of the root causes of crime experienced in our parks.
Our commitment to public safety is unwavering and requires strong partnerships among Metro Parks, public safety agencies and the community. We strive to balance maintaining parks with the understanding that we won’t always be able to keep everyone safe from the unpredictable actions of others. It will take everyone working together to make our community, and our parks, safe spaces for all.
Shon Sylvia has been executive director of Metro Parks Tacoma since 2017. He oversees the park district, including its 275 career employees and 750 seasonal or part-time employees.