Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A recent flurry of criminal activity at parks across the City of Buffalo is putting public safety, once again, into the spotlight.
Last week Tuesday saw an incident at Shoshone Park involving a man sexually assaulting a woman on the park premises. The very next day saw a man being arrested for indecent exposure at Delaware Park.
Most recently on Wednesday night, two individuals were shot following a dispute at Schiller Park.
Related
With the recent pickup in criminal activity in city parks, paired with the weather starting to warm up and more people getting out across the city, Buffalo Police Commissioner says the department will be doing more directed patrols with the parks.
"Obviously, we can't be at every place, every time," said Commissioner Gramaglia in an interview with WBEN. "Some of the incidents happened in the late night hours when the parks are closed, so we certainly ask people to abide by the park hours and not go in the parks after they're closed. But we also urge some of that common sense in if you're walking, walk with other people, try not to go in dimly-lit areas."
Gramaglia says there are also infrastructure measures that are continuously looked at in all city parks to try and help ensure public safety. This includes trying to improve lighting at the parks, or the addition of more cameras on site.
"It's not a quick fix in doing some of those, but again, that's why there are park hours, dawn until dusk. Those are some of those safety measures we looked at, but we are, with the weather changing, increasing our patrols in those parks, our directed patrols and getting officers throughout there," Gramaglia said. "It's just a combination. It's a combination of what we can do on the police side, and it's a combination of what people can do on the community side to help make things safe."
Much has been made over the years when it comes to cameras becoming a key source for police not just in criminal investigations, but also in monitoring and enhancing security measures. Gramaglia says he's always looking for the possibility of more cameras, especially in city parks.
"The mayor puts in his budget funding every year to continue to increase our infrastructure, our city camera infrastructure. We're adding more cameras every year, so I'll always take more cameras," he said. "They're always very helpful when it comes to doing our job technology. It is a tremendous asset when we are looking to solve, and even prevent crimes. When people see a camera somewhere, they're going to think twice, hopefully, about committing some type of crime."
Aside from using common sense measures when walking through city parks, what other tips and pieces of advise does Commissioner Gramaglia have for anyone concerned for their safety?
"I keep stressing that the parks in the City of Buffalo close at nighttime. Have your cell phone out at the ready. Basically things of that nature that you really have to watch where you're walking, what you're doing, and the places that you're going," Gramaglia said.