Spending an afternoon with Troy Siefer and Charlie Redline is like dropping into a buddy-cop movie.

While the two are tasked with enforcing the rules and regulations of the Bend Park & Recreation District’s more than 80 parks, they spend more time cracking jokes with parkgoers than writing citations.

“We try to just help people have a good time in the park, with a little bit of rule enforcement,” Siefer said.

The two are a contrasting pair: Redline, 25, works for the district as a park steward while Siefer, 54, is a security officer with Bend Patrol Services, which contracts with the district. Redline walks the park in a blue golf-style shirt, shorts and a mesh-back hat embossed with the district logo. He came to Bend after a brief stint working for the National Park Service as a ranger in Indiana.

Siefer wears all black, with a black cap with bold white letters reading “Security.” He started the job a month ago after 19 years in law enforcement, the last 11 years at the Jefferson County jail.

Despite their different backgrounds, the two see eye to eye on rule enforcement in Bend’s parks — they take a light-handed approach.

Both stewards and security have the authority to enforce park rules, such as limits on smoking and off-leash dogs, but do not have the authority to enforce state or local laws. If any laws are being broken in the park, the Bend Police Department handles enforcement.

The security cars do look similar to police vehicles, and Siefer said people occasionally mistake him for a police officer, but he is always quick to correct them and bought a hat clearly labeling him as security to limit confusion.

“I am a rule enforcement officer, not a law enforcement officer,” Siefer said.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said he has never heard of park security exceeding authority, and online court records show Bend Patrol Services have never been involved in a lawsuit.

One of the most common violations Siefer and Redline encounter is people drinking alcohol in parks, but both said most people admit what they are doing and toss the can in the trash.

“I’ll tell them, ‘Get rid of the alcohol; enjoy your day in the park,’” Siefer said.

The two don’t always work together, but Jeff Hagler, park stewardship manager for the park district, often pairs them. And while their duties overlap often, their specific roles are different. Stewards are ambassadors of the parks district, and their main duty is to be helpful and friendly to parkgoers. Contracted security is supposed to do the same, but also steps in if someone is getting unruly. If a situation continues to escalate, or there is a report of a significant crime being committed, they will call Bend Police.

The district used to have an agreement to pay the police department to have an officer patrol the parks, but the agreement was abandoned in September 2015 after it was decided that level of enforcement wasn’t necessary and it would be cheaper to go with stewards and private security.

The district generally employs two or three stewards and an officer during the day. The district also contracts to have a security officer go through the parks at night and lock up bathrooms and gates to parking lots. The specific number of workers generally depends on the seasonal demand. Hagler said the district has $151,000 budgeted for private security for the current fiscal year.

“Our main goal is to generate voluntary compliance — education first,” Hagler said.

If someone does break the rules, he or she will likely first get a verbal warning. If a steward or security officer sees the conduct happen again, the person will give a written warning. If caught a third time, the person will likely be excluded from the park for a period of time, maybe 24 hours for something minor, or 30 days for something more serious.

If the person is caught in the parks during that period, Bend Police can be called to cite the person for criminal trespassing.

In addition to drinking, other common violations are having dogs off leash, camping in the parks and smoking.

“We are not breaking up a domestic violence incident or a bank robbery,” Siefer said. “We’re breaking up a leash violation.”

One such violation came Wednesday afternoon at Drake Park, as a large boxer bounded around its owner. When the owner saw Redline and Siefer walk over, she quickly apologized and put a leash on her dog. Rather than give what would resemble a verbal warning, Siefer thanked the woman for leashing the dog as he pet it and gave it a treat.

“Most of the time you walk over, and the situation usually just resolves itself,” he said.

However, most of the job isn’t enforcement. As Siefer and Redline make their rounds, they often stop and ask people how their day is going, or thank them for following the rules. They hand out dog treats and pick up trash. And with Siefer around, there is generally a joke being cracked.

During the summer, Drake Park fills with locals and tourists finishing up a float of the Deschutes River. Siefer said the biggest issue is floaters bringing open beers into the park, but generally people are in a good mood and happy to throw the beer away.

“I haven’t had to respond to one fight or an out-of-control person,” Siefer said. “I think that’s pretty good.”

Whether it’s a mutual love for the job or just a similar outlook on life, the two have an obvious bond. Never getting too serious, they joked about how they like to stop at the bridge over the whitewater park on a hot day. They lean up against the bridge’s railing and put their arms out, basking in the mist spraying up from the river below. Redline joked about it being a re-enactment of the movie “Titanic” and Siefer chuckled, saying he promises he doesn’t stand behind Redline with his hands on his waist, as Leonardo DiCaprio did behind Kate Winslet in the movie.

Every now and then the job does get more serious. One of the things they commonly enforce is a rule against jumping from bridges into the water, which can get you a $400 fine from the Bend Police Department.

A couple of weeks ago, Siefer encountered a man jumping from the bridge at First Street Rapids Park day after day.

“I told him we don’t want people getting hurt, and that was the last time I saw him,” he said. The man, Andrew Joseph Munster, drowned July 23 after jumping off the bridge.

Siefer said there is only so much he can do, and some people refuse to listen.

But most do heed advice, and Siefer said he enjoys the change from working in the jail.

“Instead of dealing with the harder people in life,” he said, “I am generally just dealing with the friendlier people.”

Redline said hanging outside all day and chatting with people is hard to beat, and Siefer agreed.

“This job is literally a walk in the park,” Siefer said.

— Reporter: 541-383-0376, awieber@bendbulletin.com