Residents worry about activity at Inglewood park
Lauren Furniss | 6-2-2010 | Comments |
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A visit to Edward Vincent Jr. Park is a spring tradition in Inglewood. On sunny days, parents and children flock to the park’s 55 acres of rolling green lawns, playground equipment, skateboard ramps, tennis courts and soccer fields. In the summer, children can take swimming lessons at the park’s pool complex or practice for theater productions in Inglewood’s community playhouse.But as the weather gets warmer, parents and residents are complaining about another alarming rite of spring in Edward Vincent Jr. Park.
In recent years, the six restrooms at the park have become a de facto hub of cruising, sexual encounters that are either random or prearranged through websites intended specifically for that purpose.
For many, the greatest problem posed by cruisers is the safety of the children playing in the park.
“We’ve had some situations where kids walked in on some inappropriate activities,” said James Henry, the supervisor of Citywide Sports and Physical Activities. "It’s got to be something scarring, something that will last forever.”
Police officers said no children have been assaulted or harassed in the park, but agree that it could happen.
“Unfortunately we have assaults all over the city,” said Sgt. Robert Pessis, a detective in the Inglewood Police Department’s Vice Section. “There’s always the potential for violence with criminal activities.”
As summer approaches, police and Parks and Recreation officials are gearing up for increased activity in the park, both legal and illegal. According to Theresa Estrada, the Parks and Recreation superintendent, visitor activity in the park significantly increases from June to September as people come to enjoy the sunny weather and longer days.
“We have hundreds of people [who] visit the park every day,” Estrada said. “The summer camp itself holds one hundred people.”
Pessis said that the warmer weather also encourages cruising.
“It goes through seasons,” Pessis said. “It tends to pick up in the summer months.”
Parks and Recreation officials complain that having to protect their children from this problem alters schedules for recreation activities, particularly during the park’s peak season. Henry explained that summer day camp programs require extra security.
“In the summer we increase our visibility and monitoring,” Henry said. “We don’t allow kids in the outside restrooms, and they are escorted everywhere at all times.”
Residents are also upset about the difficulties that these sexual activities cause for park visitors. Eduardo Bostos, an Inglewood resident who coaches for Inglewood’s youth soccer league, said that he is concerned about holding soccer practices from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“Patrol is one of my duties,” Bostos said. “I coordinate with all the parents and keep them informed. I have to tell them, ‘Do not let your kids go by themselves.'"
Pessis said the park bathrooms attract people from all over Los Angeles County.
“Some of the things we look at are where these people are from,” Pessis said. “I would estimate that 75 percent are from outside of Inglewood.”
Henry concurred.
“I’ve seen them drive up in taxis, even limousines, from all over,” he said.
Henry, who works at an office in Edward Vincent Jr. Park, said it is a problem that occurs daily.
“During the course of the day, when there are a lot of activities, they stay away,” Henry said. “But it happens every day, usually early in the mornings and late in the evenings.”
Henry said that monitoring the bathrooms has become a large part of his daily work routine.
“First thing when I get here every morning, I drive through the park,” Henry said. “I’ve been around long enough to know when shady characters are hanging around versus someone who just wants to use the restroom.”
Henry has worked for Parks and Recreation for nine years, and said that people had been meeting in the restrooms before he began his job. Henry also said that City Recreation employees are assigned to open and close the restrooms and patrol the park in the evenings. However, Henry said that people meeting in the bathrooms beat up city workers in June of 2006 and August of 2005.
“They get mad when we harass them,” Henry said. “They try to watch our schedule and start a kind of a set up.”
Henry said he tries to work closely with the police, as Parks and Recreation officials cannot arrest or detain suspects.
“We can only monitor, report and call the police,” Henry said. “There’s nothing much I can do.”
He also said the police response was not always effective, but has improved in recent years, especially after he pursued the issue with the police department.
“Dispatchers used to give us a bad time or a sarcastic response because I called all the time,” Henry said. “Now police try to give me more coverage. The watch commander tries to assign me extra officers.”
Bostos said he had similar difficulties with the police.
“I’ve talked to the chief of police,” he said. “It goes in one ear and out the other.”
Bostos said he caught two men engaging in sexual activities in a bathroom last month and called the police to arrest them. He was infuriated when police officers released them instead.
“Instead of helping me, they make me look like a fool,” Bostos said. “The guys I caught, they were laughing at me.”
The Inglewood Police Department said it was taking extra precautions in improving safety in Edward Vincent Jr. Park.
“We are launching an aggressive campaign against this,” Pessis said. “We have a zero tolerance policy on anything illegal.”
The police department campaign includes enforcing Inglewood’s municipal code 5-67K, which states that the park is closed from dusk to dawn. Pessis estimated that 30 or fewer arrests have been made in relation to cruising in the parks. Pessis added that the number is low because officers cannot arrest anyone unless an officer witnesses a person in the act of a crime. This number also does not include the new curfew violation arrests, which Pessis said are likely to be linked to cruising activities.
Police also use public shaming tactics to deter cruisers from using the park.
“It’s not uncommon that we post names of people arrested in press releases,” Pessis said.
Pessis also said they have submitted lists to local newspapers, such as LA Wave and The Daily Breeze.
Another key aspect of the police campaign against cruising is undercover operations. Although Pessis could not disclose the procedures involved in these operations, he said they have had some success with this type of work.
“It’s hit and miss,” said Pessis. “Sometimes we have to put ourselves in positions to witness these crimes.”
While most residents continue to complain about cruising, many agree the situation has significantly improved in recent years.
“Presence is the thing that works,” Henry said. “Now people know that they will be harassed, so they’re not as open with their actions.”
Some Inglewood activists believe the solution to the problem lies with city government.
“The problem is right there on the council,” Willie Agee, the commissioner at large of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said. “If we can get a good mayor elected, we can run them [cruisers] out of this city.”
Other residents point to community action as part of the answer.
“Some people bury their heads in the sand, and hope it will all go away,” Howard “Happy” Eley, an Inglewood resident and activist, said. “But some people got to stand up.”
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