A child approached Portsmouth police with a troubling complaint: he said he did not feel comfortable playing at Tracy Park because of homeless people approaching him.
According to the police report, the child, who appeared to be around 10 to 12 years old, approached an officer on 10th Street about 30 minutes before the park was scheduled to close.
The child told police he could not play at the park because people in the park were coming up to him and making him uncomfortable.
Even more concerning, the child said one person had approached him and wanted him to go with them.
The officer noted in the report that the child said he does not talk to strangers and left on his bicycle.
“Thank goodness,” the officer wrote.
Multiple units responded, and officers conducted a walk-through of Tracy Park. Police removed everyone from the park and identified people for trespassing because they were in the park after hours.
Officers also noted the park was once again filled with trash.
According to the report, officers found trash, beer cans, and drug paraphernalia in the park and said the issue has been addressed many times before.
The officer wrote that it is “a shame kids can’t even go to the park anymore” and noted it appears the problem will continue until something is done.
SCDN has reported several recent issues at Tracy Park, including drug complaints, people camping in the park, trash piling up, public indecency, parole arrests, and repeated calls involving homelessness, addiction, and mental health concerns.
This call feels different.
This was not just an angry adult complaining about trash, noise, or someone sleeping on a bench.
This was a child asking police for help because he did not feel safe using a public park.
That should bother everyone.
Tracy Park is supposed to be a place for kids to play, families to gather, and the public to enjoy. It should not be a place where a child feels he has to leave on his bike because strangers keep approaching him.
There is still room for compassion. Many of the people sleeping in parks or gathering there are struggling with homelessness, addiction, mental illness, or simply nowhere else to go.
But compassion for adults in crisis cannot mean shrugging when children are afraid to play in a park.
Police can walk through. They can move people along. They can identify people after hours. They can make arrests when laws are broken.
But officers cannot fix homelessness, addiction, mental health care, public restroom issues, shelter shortages, and park cleanup alone.
What they can do is respond when a child asks for help.
In this case, they did.