Ninety-two percent of people who attended a Park After Dark events program in Los Angeles County parks in the summer of 2022 felt safe, according to a new evaluation by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
The program, Parks After Dark, was launched in three parks in 2010 and has since expanded to 34 locations, primarily in neighborhoods with higher-than-average rates of violence, economic hardship and obesity. (After a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the events returned in 2022 and are continuing this summer.)
“Parks After Dark provides crucial recreational programming in Los Angeles County parks in a safe environment,” said Nadereh Pourat, director of the Center for Health Policy Research’s Health Economics and Evaluation Research Program, and the report’s lead author. “It’s an opportunity to enjoy free outdoor activities and exercise, spend time with family and experience the beauty of nature without fear of violence. This is critical for communities to thrive.”
The report also credits the program with reducing crime and improving people’s health. UCLA researchers compared crime statistics from the neighborhoods that have hosted Parks After Dark events to data for similar Los Angeles neighborhoods that did not host events on those dates. Over the life of the program, they concluded, 189 fewer crimes — 115 serious or violent crimes and 74 nonviolent offenses — took place in the Parks After Dark neighborhoods than might have occurred otherwise.
The UCLA researchers also estimated the health benefits of the program. They concluded that if participants maintained the same level of physical activity that they expended during Parks After Dark, year-round, there would be a significant reduction in costs associated with chronic disease.
As a result, the report concluded that for 2022, Parks After Dark, which cost $3.3 million to host, saved the city and residents an estimated $11.4 million in criminal justice costs and costs associated with disabilities and years of life lost due to chronic diseases.
Parks After Dark offers free family-friendly activities including movie nights, sports clinics and games, concerts and swimming every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening during June, July and August. It is led by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation in collaboration with the county’s Department of Public Health and Office of Violence Prevention.
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