Lack of financial and other resources in local law enforcement agencies to enable them to provide adequate police services at Corps lakes.

Lack of political importance of Corps lakes to county sheriffs. Generally, the sheriff will concentrate his available resources in areas where permanent residents (who elected him) live, to provide the type of visibility and service levels necessary to maintain the electoral support of such constituents.

Emphasis on traffic enforcement by certain state enforcement agencies instead of emphasis on crime and public order control.

Inadequate communication of Corps needs in terms of the citation program and visitor protection services. Occasional misunderstanding that the Corps has its own police operation.

These are all serious issues, only some of which can be resolved by improved communication processes. The other issues, such as lack of political importance, or lack of resources, cannot be resolved in a simplistic manner.

In brief, the Corps lacks the political "muscle" particularly at the county level to obtain the required police and court resources necessary to upgrade visitor protection services. In these instances, it will be essential that the Corps provide some form of subsidy to county or state law enforcement agencies to obtain a higher level of service. The objectives presented below address both issues.

Objective 6-1: Each Corps lake manager should prepare a detailed descriptive document outlining pertinent facts about the recreation project (e.g., number of visitors, map showing boundary lines, facility descriptions, etc.) and identifying specific law enforcement needs. This document should be submitted to each and every criminal justice agency with jurisdiction at the lake. The lake manager should meet with each agency to determine exactly what services can or cannot be provided. A written report should then be prepared outlining exactly what needs can be met by such agencies; what needs cannot be met; and what problems exist.

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(Appropriate implications of this report should be considered in the preparation of the annual law enforcement plan for the lake as described under Goal 8.)

Standards of Service: Existence of authorization, appropriated funds, policy, procedures, and control mechanisms to enable the Corps to purchase services or subsidize duly-constituted law enforcement agencies to provide the needed services identified under Objective 6-1.

Objective 6-2: Corps lake managers will develop effective working relationships with U.S. magistrates and other judicial authorities having jurisdiction over incidents occurring at Corps recreation lakes.

Standards of Service: Judicial acceptance of jurisdiction on citation and other actions taken by Corps personnel.

GOAL 7:

RECORDS--Visitors to Corps of Engineers lakes should
be assured that adequate and accurate records are maintained
on all situations related to law enforcement needs and problems
at the lake so that Corps decision-makers can make informed
assessments and plans for visitor protection at the lake.

Discussion.

The Corps of Engineers maintains an incident reporting system at all its lakes that is intended to identify criminal and other unusual incidents occurring at each lake. This data is computerized and can be aggregated in a wide variety of formats. Data is also compiled on warnings and citations issued by rangers. The system itself is designed well but it has some major flaws at the present time that render it virtually useless for planning, analysis, and decisionmaking purposes. These flaws are as follows:

At those lakes where multiple law enforcement agencies provide service, the Corps incident reporting system does not, as a general rule, pick-up crimes reported to such agencies or arrests made by such agencies.

There is a good deal of under-reporting of vandalism and other minor offenses at Corps lakes.

At those lakes where some developed areas are maintained by
the Corps and some by other state, local or federal agencies,
the Corps incident reporting system, as a general rule, will
not pick up offenses occurring or arrests made in outgranted

areas.

Citizens victimized or otherwise harassed at Corps lakes are
somewhat reluctant to report crimes for a wide variety of

reasons.

All of these situations have been verified during our field visits to Corps lakes. This leads us to the conclusion that the existing incident reporting system will require some modifications to make it a useful tool for decision-making. This is discussed in further detail in Chapter 14. Additionally, at no time in this study were we made aware that any systematic planning for visitor protection is undertaken by the Corps. These findings lead to the objectives that follow.

Objective 7-1: Each Corps lake manager should establish systems and procedures to obtain reports of crimes, arrests, or other unique incidents occurring at the lake from all law enforcement agencies providing such services at the lake. The lake manager should incorporate such incidents into his reports to higher Corps levels.

Standards of Service:

Existence of a plan and agreements for obtaining the required data from law enforcement agencies. This data should be obtained at least once per month.

Objective 7-2: A system of annual sample surveys should be implemented at class A and B lakes to maintain a current evaluation of user experience and victimization at the lake. As a minimum, this survey should determine: (1) user opinions about the level and quality of visitor protection services at the lake; (2) any criminal victimization of lake users; and, (3) user suggestions for improving safety conditions at the lake.

opinion survey on visitor protection. This survey must be conducted at
least once a year.

GOAL 8: PLANNING--Visitors to Corps of Engineers lakes should
be assured that all Corps lakes with a recreation component in
the planning stage as well as all future projects will be de-
veloped so as to: 1) enhance the personal safety of visitors;
2) facilitate safety of visitors; and, 3) facilitate the effec-
tive provision of law enforcement and visitor protection ser-
vices. Master plans for Corps lakes and recreation areas should
have a law enforcement and visitor protection component.

Discussion. Our site visits and analysis of data provided by Corps lake managers have convinced us that many Corps lakes having a recreation component were designed and developed without appropriate consideration of either the personal safety of lake users or the needs of law enforcement delivery agencies. This is not particularly surprising since such basic concepts as "defensible space" or environmental security were not fully developed at the time such projects were constructed. Also, it was a rare planner who recognized that law enforcement needs should be considered in project planning and design. Essentially such considerations represent a preventive approach to visitor protection and law enforcement problems.

There are measures for providing enhanced visitor protection and facilitating law enforcement which can be reflected in the layout and management of a Corps recreation area. Master plans for new recreation areas should contain a law enforcement and visitor protection component. Similarly, annual or long-range plans for the upgrading or expansion of existing recreation areas should also give special attention to park practices and law enforcement measures which will provide improved protection to visitors and project resources. More specifically, a law enforcement and visitor protection planning function plan should be established either within or otherwise responsible to the Corps of Engineers. The scope of planning should include longer range policy and program planning at the Office of the Chief of Engineers, through more focused planning, design

and coordination efforts at the Division and District levels. An annual law enforcement and visitor protection plan should be prepared by each lake manager.

In brief, there is a lot that can be done in the design stages of a lake that can contribute much to the prevention of future problems. However, it is first necessary to determine the exact nature of such prevention design efforts, cost, and potential effectiveness. The objectives below address these needs.

Objective 8-1: The Corps should establish a position for a professional enforcement specialist at the Division level to assist in the planning and design of recreation areas and to coordinate law enforcement and visitor protection planning and services of the Districts within the

Division.

Standards of Service:

Establishment of the position and implementa

tion of a planning review process prior to January 1975.

Objective 8-2: The Corps should institute mandatory inclusion of law enforcement and visitor protection design concepts in planning efforts for lakes with recreation components. Each Corps Class A and B lake manager should prepare, or cause to be prepared, an annual law enforcement and visitor protection plan. The plan should be based on quantitative and accurate data and should address specific objectives to be addressed and achieved during the planning period.

Standards of Service:

Existence of an Engineering Regulation on Law Enforcement and Visitor Protection prepared by the Office of the Chief of Engineers, including appropriate amendments to existing ER's pertaining to recreation planning, design and management;

Existere of law enforcement and visitor protection policy
and management plans at Division and District offices;