There are good ways and not-so-good ways for public agencies to use private security employees to keep order on their properties. Central Oregon Community College has had trouble in the past finding the proper way; Tuesday’s article in The Bulletin by Aubrey Wieber on enforcement of rules in the Bend Park & Recreation District’s parks provided a lesson on how to do it right.

The park district uses casually dressed park stewards, paired with private security officers, to stroll through Drake Park, being good ambassadors but also enforcing park rules about dogs, drinking and the like. While security officers wear uniforms that resemble police uniforms and their cars can be mistaken for police cars, they’re quick to tell you otherwise. If someone is breaking the law, they call police.

Contrast that with COCC’s use of security officers in the past. When District Attorney John Hummel told the school its officers were overstepping their bounds, the school pushed back. It took more than a year of discussions among Hummel, Bend Police Chief Jim Porter and the college to correct the situation.

No one questions the need for security on campuses, in parks, at bus stations and the like. But the park district’s approach, one of using gentle persuasion where possible and real police when necessary, is surely the best way to go.