According to PEER, the latest annual report (2020) from the NPS Investigative Services Branch estimates that felony investigations of property crimes and serious drug-related offenses represent approximately one-fifth of the current workload.
“Reducing our official response to robberies, meth labs, and human trafficking occurring inside our national parks seems like a step in a very wrong direction,” said Pacific PEER Director Jeff Ruch, adding that since 2005 the number of permanent uniformed Park Service law enforcement rangers has also shrunk by more than one-seventh (15 percent) while the number of seasonal law enforcement rangers hired during peak seasons has dropped by almost one-third (30 percent).
