Phoenix has a new way for residents to report certain problems at city parks.
The city is using an answering service to take non-emergency calls 24/7. The service collects code of conduct complaints and relays them to park rangers. Jeff Spellman, who has pushed for better communication between residents and rangers, has called the service a few times about encampments and people using drugs in his neighborhood park.
“There's an actual person who's answering that phone 24/7and you know, that way they can ask you appropriate questions. You know, like how long ago did you see this? Is this an ongoing problem? You know, other things just to get as much information about the situation as they can before they record it and send it over to the rangers,” he said.
Phoenix has nearly 190 parks. Typically, three teams of two rangers provide around the clock coverage.
“I think it's incumbent on the community, the residents, to kind of be the eyes and ears of what they see out there and report it,” Spellman said. “As long as we can engage in that system and send that information over to the park rangers, I think it will help them to be more efficient and be able to focus on the problem parks,” Spellman said.
About two years ago, the City Council approved hiring unarmed security guards to patrol overnights at various locations, based on trespassing complaints and code of conduct violations.
The 24/7 Parks Code of Conduct Answering Service number is 602-534-9919.