TUCSON, Ariz. - Earlier this year the Tucson Police Department and Parks and Recreations Department joined forces to keep Tucson parks safe.
The two departments formed the Park Safety program, which is made up of park safety officers serving parks in Tucson.
When the program first began, the park safety officers sported the same uniform as community service officers. Their uniform was made up of a light blue top with black bottoms.
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However, now that the program has been up and running for a several months, park safety officers are debuting new uniforms meant to help with visibility.
Their uniforms are now made up of neon green top as well as black bottoms.
“The high visibility green has definitely improved our team as a whole," said park safety officer Kylai Myers.
When the program began park safety officers also used Tucson Police Department vehicles, but as of last week, park safety officers have brand new rides.
“You’re going to have a vehicle that kinda speaks the name of our uniform it says park safety on the side of it’s going to be a different approach while we’re dealing with people in the parks," said park safety officer, Marco Salcido.
The program now has five park safety vehicles for park safety officers. They also have brand new bikes, which officers will use to get through and around parks quicker.
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All of these equipment upgrades are something Myers says she hopes help the program even more.
"We've actually gotten a lot of feedback recently saying they feel safer in the parks and they enjoy our presence," said Myers.
