Crime on the rise at state parks

Holiday visitors seeking a quiet day off beside the water at Folsom State Recreation Area on July 5 instead had front-row seats to a pursuit, as park rangers chased an assault suspect on foot through throngs of picnickers.

It was like a scene from a big-city television crime drama. But this was a state park.

Crime is on the rise in California's state parks, up nearly threefold in the last decade, according to Department of Parks and Recreation data analyzed by McClatchy Newspapers.

Last year, 62,575 crimes were reported in the parks -- or about 170 a day, compared with 65 a day in 1999 -- even as crime in the rest of the state declined. Taking park use into account, crime last year reached record per-capita levels.

"It makes us feel vulnerable," said Floyd Oydegaard, owner of Columbia Booksellers, a business inside the Gold Rush-era Columbia State Historic Park near Sonora, which was hit hard last year by thieves and vandals. "It doesn't belong here."

Across the 278 state parks, crime is more common near water and in the eight off-road vehicle recreation parks. Both tend to draw large crowds and inherently risky activities.

Up and down the state during the past year, park rangers have contended with:

"Car surfing" at Folsom Lake near Sacramento, where daredevil teens jump off a bridge from the roof of a moving vehicle into the lake below.

Grave-robbing at Tolowa Dunes State Park on the far North Coast, which left American Indian remains unearthed.

Illicit sex in parks -- especially south coast beach parks -- often solicited on Craigslist.

The death of a 24-year-old rescue volunteer crushed by his vehicle while responding to an accident at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area on the Central Coast.

A mismatch of numbers plays a role. As crime increased and the department added a dozen new parks, ranger staffing levels remained flat and salaries did not keep pace with other law enforcement jobs. Nearly 30 percent of ranger positions now are vacant -- 131 out of 450, 18 more than a year ago.

"There are things going on in the park that we just can't catch," said Folsom park Superintendent Ted Jackson.

Trespassing leads offenses

The most frequent state park crimes may appear benign but hint at a growing disregard for park rules.

Trespassing in closed areas is the most common, increasing about 20 percent last year. Failing to pay entry fees grew about 10 percent. Also in the top 10 were illegal camping and fishing, and vehicle-related violations such as parking illegally or driving in restricted areas.

Serious and violent crimes remain rare in parks, but they, too, are on the upswing. The parks saw 33 assaults in 1999; 87 last year. Resource crimes -- attacks on the parks themselves, such as vandalism, graffiti and tree cutting -- grew 17 percent, to 10,299 incidents.

An extreme case occurred in April at the remote Tolowa Dunes park in Del Norte County. Grave robbers entered the Yontocket Indian Memorial Cemetery to dig up treasures such as pottery and arrowheads. A $2,000 reward has been offered.

Marijuana cultivation in the parks also is increasing. In 2009, 35 incidents were reported, up from 30 the prior year and only four in 1999.

When one plantation was busted in April in the rugged mountains of Malibu State Park, two armed men were arrested; one injured himself trying to get away.

"I think the entire system is teetering on the brink," said Richard Bergstresser, a former ranger at Humboldt Redwoods State Park and past president of the State Park Peace Officers Association. "Job No. 1 should be boots on the ground: Protection of the parks. I feel we've moved away from that mission."