Park rangers push safety improvement plan

Washington – The U.S. Park Rangers Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police is calling on the National Park Service to implement a plan that the organization claims will help improve the safety of employees in national parks.

Developed partly in reaction to a report showing an increase in violence against park rangers, the five-point plan includes:

• Increasing staffing levels
• Improving training for new staff
• Issuing new uniforms and vehicle markings to better distinguish law enforcement staff
• Improving screening of potential new employees
• Upgrading firearms inventory

In June, advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility released a report on assaults and threats against federal resource and land management employees. The figures show that the number of attacks or threats increased 42.9 percent in 2012 from the previous year for U.S. park police and 12.9 percent for National Park Service employees.