Cameron Park is getting a face-lift and a flurry of attention as its centennial celebration begins Saturday.

The park also will get a dose of extra security, with more rangers and a new volunteer patrol program.

The Waco Police Department created a new Citizens on Patrol unit that will begin patrolling the 416-acre park in June.

Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

The nine volunteers will be outfitted with a patrol car and radios that will allow them to report suspicious activity.

Volunteers began training last Saturday. Police said others can join the next training classes in the fall.

Meanwhile, the city in recent months has extended its park ranger program to a 24-hour operation with 16 rangers, who keep an eye on Cameron Park and other public places along the river corridor.

What’s driving the security improvements is not an increase in crime but a boost in popularity, city officials said.

City parks and recreation director Rusty Black said having high-visibility guardians helps relieve the public’s fears about crime in the sprawling natural park.

“We have a tremendous number of people using the park, and that’s what the park’s for,” he said. “It’s important that we have a presence to tell people what they can and can’t do.”

Neither the rangers nor the volunteer patrols carry weapons or make arrests, but they can report problems to police.

“Our objective is not necessarily doing enforcement but getting additional eyes on the park, so that if there’s something going wrong, they can tell us and prevent something bad from happening,” Black said.

Volunteers will travel in pairs, wearing windbreakers for identification.

They will be trained in how to identify suspicious behavior and how to make a complete report, said Estella Lopez, the Waco Police Department crime prevention specialist in charge of the program.

She said the sight of the volunteers will improve the public’s perceptions of the park.

“I think safety in Cameron Park isn’t a big problem right now,” she said.

Since 2007, the park and surrounding neighborhood have generated 106 police calls — about 30 a year, or half the crime rate of the mid-1980s, police figures show.

Most of those calls involved minor incidents such as reckless driving, suspicious cars and civil disturbances.

Violent crimes included one armed robbery and three sexual assaults.

Two of the rape incidents originated outside the park, and the robbery was among acquaintances, police said.

Lopez said Cameron Park visitors should use the same common sense they would use visiting any large urban park.

“What people need to remember is if you’re out exercising, you should always have a partner with you,” Lopez said. “Two is better than one, so bring a friend with you, especially if you’re out in the evening.”

jbsmith@wacotrib.com

757-5752

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