FYI - Real Police, Real Tickets

[JayT]

At Murphy-Hanrehan only the trails that are specified open to mountain bikes are legal for riding. ALL other trails are not.

Will I get a ticket to, I've ridden everywhere on the horse trails and mountian bike trails for 4 years and I've never seen a park ranger.

Three Rivers Park Distrcit does not have park "rangers". They have Park Police and Public Service Officers.

The Park Police are real police that give real tickets.

Trespassing on any Park District construction site will likely earn you a ticket on the spot. And Pete is correct, the ticket will be in excess of $100.

I was present when Pete asked the question about enforcement & tickets and I can verify that is what he was told.

JayT

[stoneage]

And real guns, too.

[TrailPatrol]

The Three Rivers Park Police used to be called the Hennepin Park Rangers, back in a kinder, gentler time, when Hennepin Parks prided themselves in being a "resource-based" park system. They used to wear green pants and tan shirts and drove green Jeeps. When Hennepin Parks became 3RPD in 2000 or so, the rangers felt they were not getting enough respect being called "Rangers" so they became the "Police", and changed all their trucks to white with green stripes. Then somebody decided they still were not getting enough respect in green and tan, so they changed to blue uniforms, pulled the green striping off and put the current blue one on the trucks. (Funny, I have never heard a conservation officer complain about not getting respect because he/she wears a green and tan uniform.:confused: ) They are, and always have been real, sworn, licensed police officers who can issue tickets, make arrests, shoot bad guys, etc. etc. The Park Service Officers are like CSOs in most communities. They can write tickets on the park ordinance, which still can end you up in court.

When they changed to the blue suits, there was a mass exodus of dedicated "rangers" to the DNR and other land management agencies. Both the COs we deal with in the state park units where I work are former Hennepin Park Rangers, and there are 3-4 others, including the Law Enforcement Supervisor in Little Falls. As one officer told me, "The day they issued the blue uniforms was my last day."

State Parks, and Anoka County still have rangers. (Like me.) Dakota, Washington and Ramsey Counties have Sheriff's Park Patrols. St. Paul has Police Park Rangers (a unit of SPPD) and Minneapolis has Park Police and non-sworn Park Patrol Agents. They all have the varying levels of authority, but essentially, do what you should not be doing, where you shouldn't be doing it and you could at least get a ticket, and maybe a whole lot worse.

Ride legal,
:banana:
Hans

[stoneage]

real, sworn, licensed police officers
......who daily see a lot of stupid stuff. I have heard stories about meth labs, sexual activity weirder than Wirth, gang activity, the list goes on. I can't blame them for getting serious. This isn't, "Hi, enjoy your park experience and don't step on the daisies" anymore. How would you approach a rusted out van in the middle of Crow/Hassen park at 11 at night?

[TrailPatrol]

....... How would you approach a rusted out van in the middle of Crow/Hassen park at 11 at night?

The same way I would approach a rusted out van in the middle of Sand Dunes State Forest, where I work. Call the sheriff or the CO and let the guys with the big guns handle it.

I just never bought into the argument that you have to wear blue to get respect.

Hans

[jitterjepp]

How would you approach a rusted out van in the middle of Crow/Hassen park at 11 at night?You do it in full-on haz-mat gear because it might be a meth lab.

[stoneage]

you have to wear blue to get respect.
I agree. The large handgun helps, though. The two cops I know are both women, BTW.

[berrywise]

Don't call me Radio, Unit 91

[JayT]

I just never bought into the argument that you have to wear blue to get respect.

I do believe this statement was actually made. It sounds silly, but it's just another example of how statements are taken out of context. Rare today, right?...

I think "respect" in this case means when the officer is approaching you or is seen, in their blues, there is little doubt that they are the police.

The Park District sees 4 million+ visitors annually. I think these public safety folks deserve every advantage they can get.