Dear Red Phone,
“Las Animas park is a growing scene for drinking out in the open and drug use. What does or will it take for Gilroy PD to get this park cleaned up again?”
Dear concerned for park safety,
To help answer your question, we got in touch with Gilroy Police Sgt. Pedro Espinoza. Here is his response. We hope you find this helpful:
“Quality of life calls for service at our local parks continue to be a challenge to our field officers. We have directed our officers to take a proactive approach when responding to these types of complaints. Conversely, we want to be resourceful to the transient community and direct them to transitional and/or temporary housing; or other services, when applicable. Though drinking is allowed in specific areas of Las Animas and Christmas Hill Parks, alcohol related municipal code violations at our parks continued to be problematic. We have deployed resources (mounted unit/anti-crime team) to conduct problem oriented policing at our local parks when problem areas are identified. As time permits, the beat officers often conduct patrol checks at parks as well. We ask community members to assist us in keeping our parks safe. Please report disturbances and crimes as they occur. Often, these types of incidents are reported hours after and/or not reported at all. This makes are job a little difficult. We appreciate the feedback and we will continue our efforts.”
