Alabama City Works to Upgrade Park Security

After creating a threat assessment for the City of Dothan's parks, leaders are now pushing to upgrade security measures.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Apr 05, 2019

Leaders in Dothan, Ala. are moving forward with enhancing security measures at city parks. 

The project started as one of the commission's top management priorities of 2017. Leisure Services, along with the Dothan Police Department, have worked together to complete threat assessments to determine the right path of creating a more secure environment for park goers. 

"We're looking at replacing 75 to 80 of the cameras we have and also adding 75 to 80 new cameras," Steve Parrish, Dothan Police Chief said.

Chief Parrish says they haven't responded to any major incidents at parks, but the new safety features are a proactive measure. 

Phase one involving the cameras is already a work in process. The city is also preparing to implement phase two where patrol officers will monitor parks.

"We expect to have police officers in some of our parks as early as this summer when school is over," said Parrish.

It is estimated that between 15 and 20 officers will be rotated through parks. Chief Parrish says the park patrol officers will be an extension of the school protection officer program.

The cost of the surveillance system upgrades are roughly $70,000 - $75,000.