Councilman Vallone: Crime Stats For Parks Are Insufficient

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- With crime on the rise in New York City parks, and the number of officers patrolling them on the decline, the City Council has put pressure on the NYPD to keep parkgoers informed.

As WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported, the NYPD keeps crime statistics on 31 city parks. City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-22nd), who chairs the Public Safety Committee, said that is insufficient.

"We just found out three days ago that crime in parks is higher than it's ever been since we've been getting that information," he said.

Vallone wants crime statistics compiled for every park more of than an acre.

But Parks Enforcement Union Local 983 president Joe Puleo said that idea does not go far enough.

"Most of the violent crime that occurs, occurs in small parks – these little playgrounds – like, you'll hear about shootings that happened in basketball courts," he said. "These will not be shown on these statistics."

Vallone has also complained previously that there are not enough officers are patrolling parks to keep people safe.

There are 13 Parks Enforcement Patrol officers staffed in the Bronx, 13 in Brooklyn, 14 in Queens, 10 in Manhattan and nine in Staten Island.

The NYPD said thefts of electronic devices are up, but crime at city parks overall is at historic lows.

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