Seven State Park Rangers Receive Law Enforcement Commissions

RALEIGH - Seven new state park rangers received commissions as law enforcement officers March 27, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. The rangers were sworn by Judge Ripley E. Rand in a special ceremony at William B. Umstead State Park.

Receiving a commission as Special Peace Officer at the end of 17-week basic law enforcement training is generally regarded as the last formal step before a ranger takes on full duties in a unit of the state parks system. During the training period prior to commissioning, a ranger is assimilated into the park and begins assuming duties in resource management and visitor service.

"It requires a lot of dedication and training for our candidates to earn the right to wear the campaign-style hat of a state park ranger," said Lewis Ledford, director of the division. "These men and women are true multi-specialists who are frequently asked to assume many roles during a day at work, from finding a lost hiker to giving an interpretive program to dealing with violations of state law."

State park rangers are required to have at least a two-year degree, and many come to the job with four-year university degrees in curricula related to resource and/or park management. Beyond law enforcement training, all are trained in medical first response, search-and-rescue wildfire suppression, natural resource management, interpretive skills and environmental education.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: A high-resolution image of each ranger is available on our web site, please click here to download)

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