Less than a year after a series of brutal attacks blemished the National Mall, U.S. Park Police head into the peak tourist season with the fewest number of officers in nearly two decades, according to labor representatives.
Morale in the police department has plummeted along with the size of the force, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility Executive Director Jeff Ruch said.
Budget shortfalls forced the Park Police last year to cancel recruit training and halve feed rations for mounted patrol horses. Motorcycle officers had to buy their own engine parts so they could escort President Bush. Officers are being removed from other national parks to patrol the National Mall and other D.C. sites, Ruch said.
“The current state of affairs is a lose-lose situation,” he said.
Park Police could not be reached Wednesday. The number of sworn officers dropped to 587 in February, the lowest force level since 1988 and well below the 800 figure the National Park Service recommended in 2000.
Former Chief Teresa Chambers warned about the staffing shortfalls in 2003 and was subsequently fired. She has filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Last summer, at least 12 tourists were robbed and assaulted at gunpoint under the shadows of the Washington Monument and the Museum of Natural History, including a 17-year-old girl who was raped at gunpoint. An intensive investigation, led by Park Police detectives, resulted in the arrest of five young men who have since pleaded guilty.
The Park Police primarily patrols 24,000 acres of federal parklands including the National Mall, Rock Creek Park and the George Washington Parkway.
