A Bucks County Rangers SUV. File photo.
The Bucks County law enforcement agency that patrols the county’s parks has changed its name to Bucks County Park Police.
The name change from Bucks County Rangers was approved last week when the Bucks County Commissioners – two Democrats and one Republican – voted to update an ordinance. The change also updates statutory references in the county ordinances.
Deputy County Solicitor Dan Grieser said the changes were coordinated with the district attorney’s office, park police, the ranger’s/officer’s union, and the commissioners’ staff.
The changes stem from two primary factors: the rangers’ new title and updates to Pennsylvania county code references, Grieser said.
During public comment, former county Commissioner Andy Warren questioned the ordinance changes, asking about arrest powers for the park police. Warren referenced ordinance language stating park police are “hereby authorized to arrest without warrant” and asked commissioners to explain the differences between the old and new ordinances.
Rich Vona, Bucks County director of law enforcement and training, said the arrest powers themselves have not changed, only the source of those powers.
“The change in the ordinance simply gives the park rangers which had originally were given the power by the ordinance, reverts them to now police officers,” Vona said. “So now they are governed by the state regulations as police. They no longer need that power given to them by the county as park rangers.”
Vona said park police follow the same rules of criminal procedure as other police officers for arrests without warrants, which are governed by state law.
Commissioner Chairperson Bob Harvie, a Democrat, said the park police have the same right to arrest a person they see committing a crime as a borough or township police officer would.
The transition from rangers to park police was requested by the rangers, according to Harvie, who said the commissioners supported the change when it was brought to them.
The ordinance updates the primary jurisdiction of park police to include “the roadways located within the boundaries of the park system” and specifies they will “perform police guard duties within the park system.” The changes allow the park police authority to extend to “county owned or leased property not in the parks” and to assist other agencies when needed.
The park police are tasked with patrolling the county’s 26 parks, reservoirs, government centers, historic areas, and recreation spots, which span 9,000 acres and make up the third-largest county park system in the state.
The park police name was used decades ago when the county first started the agency. In the 1970s, the agency took on the rangers name but retained law enforcement power, which has caused confusion at times. Several years ago, a man assaulted rangers after arguing they didn’t have the power to arrest him.
In the late 1970s, a judge ruled that the armed and police-trained rangers were police officers after a dispute between the county government and the rangers over their status.
