Police logs show that police also patrol parks regularly,

especially the ones that prompt a lot of calls, and some neighbors who live

near parks routinely call to report drug use, vandalism and any other

suspicious activity.

Recent crimes in city parks include a homicide in September

in Alden Park, which remains unsolved, and a rape in April in Tracy Ball Park,

where two men were arrested and face multiple sex crime charges.

Tracy Police Capt. John Espinoza said patrol officers look

at police logs to see where they are needed most. He added that a large number

of calls may reveal trends, such as fights at parks near schools, but don’t

necessarily mean that any of the city’s parks are dangerous.

“What are the numbers involved in the fights? It’s a small

number and it’s not an everyday occurrence,” Espinoza said. “While no one wants

to see fights, I wouldn’t say the majority of students are at risk.”

Lincoln Park, near Tracy High School, has been the scene of

a half-dozen reported assaults since the beginning of October, including a

domestic violence report and a case where a man was robbed at knifepoint.

Police logs show that officers also regularly patrol the area and stop

suspicious-looking people in or near the park.

Tracy Police also regularly patrol Zanussi Park on Promenade

Circle a couple blocks away from West High School. In three months, police have

received nine reports of fights in the park, mostly around in the half-hour or

so around 3:30 p.m. After one fight in October a youth was sent to the hospital

and in September two youths went to the hospital emergency room after a fight.

Kami Ysit, a campus police officer at West High School, said

her priority is to prevent trouble at the school, but it takes more officers in

the area to keep trouble from spilling over at the park two blocks away.

Ysit added that she wouldn’t single out Zanussi Park as a

trouble spot. Police logs show that Lincoln Park also gets after-schools

fights, and at least once a month police are called to a fight or some type of

confrontation at Dr. Powers Park, across from Monte Vista School at the corner

of Lowell Avenue and Tracy Boulevard.

“There are a lot of fights and a lot of activity at any of

the big parks near schools,” she said. “The kids are probably going to take

care of their disagreements away from the school.”

El Pescadero Park, between Grant Line Road and Kavanagh

Avenue, and next door to North School, is the site of regular fights and

reports of gang activity, including a case in November when gang members, one

with a knife, reportedly robbed kids of a video camera as they recorded stunts

at the skate park, and another where one girl was attacked and robbed because

she wouldn’t give a cigarette to another girl.

Police logs also show that it’s a regular destination for

patrol officers who often call in after they’ve made security checks.

Espinoza said regular patrols helped police make arrests in

both of the November robbery cases because officers could get to know people

who see what happens there on a daily basis.

“Those crimes were solved because officers worked those

areas,” he said.

He added that the number of calls at El Pescadero Park is

typical for a park of that size in the center of town. The park is right off of

Grant Line Road, one of Tracy’s busiest thoroughfares and business districts,

and the skate park, dog park, playground and large playing field make it the

main city park for the north end of Tracy.

“With all of the people drawn to the park, it’s really not

an extraordinary number of calls,” he said. “A lot of the security checks,

that’s us. We’re trying to prevent problems by being there.”

The number of calls doesn’t necessarily reveal which parks

are safe or dangerous. Gretchen Talley Park on Dove Drive gets more police response

than most parks in town, but most calls to police are complaints of people in

the park after-hours or kids making noise.

New Harmon Park on Hillcrest Drive is only one-half acre,

but police respond to regular complaints of people using drugs in the park or

kids creating disturbances. Slayter Park on Suellen Drive also sees regular

response to repeated complaints about drug use.

“At some parks there are people who call all the time,”

Espinoza said. “They’re the type of people who have an interest in the park and

become a mini park patrol, which is not a bad thing at all.”

Jim Freeman, who heads up Tracy Crime Stoppers, a volunteer

group that offers rewards for some crimes, said that the group has also

considered ways reduce crime in city parks.

“It’s a bigger concern where it’s supposed to be a safe

place for kids to play,” he said.

He added that before he became formally involved in Crime

Stoppers, he would be the citizen who called police to report suspicious

activity or people in his neighborhood park after dark.

“When I was at the citizens academy, they’d encourage that

you make those calls,” he said. “Just the kids being aware that the cops are

watching them and the neighbors are watching them, that calms things down.”

We want to hear what you have to say. Comment on this story

at www.tracypress.com, or to reach reporter Bob Brownne call 830-4227 or e-mail

brownne@tracypress.com.