LOS ANGELES – As the City of Los Angeles currently experiences a city employee shortage, Councilmember Tim McOsker introduced a motion today to receive a report on the hiring process related to LAPD’s Park Gate Closure Program.
“The Park Gate Closure Program is a preventative measure for community safety and it should be of the utmost importance for hiring,” said Councilmember McOsker. “As Chair of the Personnel, Audits, and Hiring Committee, I have a responsibility to look at the bottlenecks in our city’s hiring and come up with innovative ways to fill vacancies.”
The Park Gate Closure Program is a special detail under the LA Police Department’s Securities Services Division (SECSD) that opens and closes parks that have gated enclosures. Despite being under the LAPD, the program’s staff are unarmed city employees.
There are 100 parks on the closure list and the city is currently only able to secure approximately 55% of these parks on a rotational basis, according to the LAPD. Priority and sunset parks are to be secured nightly through this program and much of this work has been through the supervisor assisting in securing the parks.
Priority parks include Wattles Garden Park, Runyon Canyon Park and Elysian Park. The majority of parks open at 5 a.m. and close at 10:30 p.m., with some parks designated as sunset closures.
Currently, there are 7 as-needed security officers (both part and half-time) assigned to the Park Gate Closure Programs and 2 full-time security officers. Currently the department has 32 full-time security officer vacancies.
The services provided by the Park Gate Closure Program have always been highly regarded and valued by the community, City officials, Department of Recreation and Parks and the LAPD Area Divisions. Originating as a deterrent against gang activity, lewd conduct, vandalism and trespassing during closed park hours. The Park Gate Closure Program has proven through the years to be an effective and successful means of achieving these goals.
The Park Gate Closure Program consists of unarmed civilian security officers who serve in fixed post positions at various City facilities and rely on the police component to respond to any issues deemed law enforcement-related.
McOsker’s motion, seconded by Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, calls for the Personnel Department and LAPD to report back to the Personnel, Audits & Hiring Committee, of which he is the Chair, with an overview of the hiring process related to the Park Gate Closure Program. He has requested that the report include any barriers to hiring as well as alternatives to expediting hiring.
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