State park safety measures this Memorial Day Weekend

MOREAU, N.Y. (NEWS10) – This weekend many families will head out to state parks and campgrounds to enjoy the start of summer and soak in some fun. Lawmakers hope to keep you and your family safe with $53 million set aside in the budget to improve safety at state parks.

Moreau Lake State Park is one of the first parks in the entire state to get security cameras installed and soon camp goers will see those cameras pop up in even more state parks across New York.

New York State Park Police Lieutenant Frank McGarity said the security improvements include a whole host of upgrades.

“Looking at fencing, lighting, security cameras, license plate readers, infrastructure upgrades, and network upgrades to support all,” said McGarity.

Those enhancements will be paid for with $53 million set aside in this year's state budget. The security measures come less than a year after a young girl was abducted from Moreau Lake State Park, last fall.

Governor Kathy Hochul called them “critical security enhancements”. The state has also launched a “Junior Ranger” safety campaign to remind children of safety concepts.

“That includes having a buddy system, sharing with an adult where you were going and then asking for help from any park staff,” said McGarity.

Jamie Sousa said kids need to hear the message from authorities, not just their parents. Her family camps at Moreau Lake State Park every Memorial Day weekend. 

She said they had a safety conversation with their kids last year after the group of kids left one cousin behind..

“We had big conversation about how that wasn’t a safe thing to do and then to hear that that happened right on the next loop over, right after, that was concerning. But the first thing we said to them this year was what’s the rule? And that rule is they never leave anyone by themselves,” said Sousa.

Her husband Kevin said he noticed the increased measures right away. 

“It was definitely a noticeable difference, in the check in process, in regards to who is on what site, which vehicles, what are the license plates. What are the make and models of the cars?,” said Kevin. “They are being proactive so it doesn’t happen again. It's definitely reassuring.”

McGarity reminds everyone in the community to look out for each other and reach out to authorities if you see anything alarming.

“If you see something, say something. Notify park staff, park police, rangers of anybody or anything that seems out of place, we’ll check it out,” said McGarity.