CLEVELAND, Ohio –The uniformed men and women who have patrolled the Metroparks for decades are getting rebranded.

They are rangers no more. They are now called police officers.

In recent weeks, the park system began removing the ranger name from signs, including the one in front its ranger headquarters in Fairview Park. The sign now reads “Metroparks Police Headquarters.”

The ranger name will slowly disappear from more signs, uniforms, cars and gear, says Metroparks spokeswoman Jacqueline Gerling. She said the park system is changing the name to better reflect the law enforcement duties of the rangers, who are fully certified police officers.

Gerling also described the move as necessary to improve “clarity and messaging,” explaining that the park system wants people who approach the Metroparks rangers to understand that they are police officers, not naturalists as are some of their brethren in the national parks.

The new title reflects the original name of the force, which was established in 1921 and was called the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District Police Department. But the latest change also contradicts the message the park system tried to send in 1967, when the Metroparks changed the name from police officers to “rangers.”

The ranger name “more accurately represented the department's outdoor law enforcement functions,” the Metroparks website says about the 1967 change. “The term was first associated with expert marksmen and skilled mounted forces. Today, the term ‘ranger’ is proudly used by those whose mission includes the protection and conservation of park lands and wildlife, enforcement of state laws and park regulations, and assistance to park visitors.”

The Metroparks has 87 full- and part-time rangers who work from 8 field offices. The parks are patrolled 24-hours a day on foot, in vehicles, on horseback or on bicycles.

Cleveland.com reported earlier that the issue of changing the name had been discussed during meetings with top ranger staff. Gerling said the Metroparks’ three-member board of commissioners does not have to sign off on the change.

“To reiterate, the core values, mission and job duties will remain the same,” Gerling says.

Metroparks' new sign reflecting the name change. No more rangers.

This post was updated at the request of the Metroparks to clarify its number of police field offices. The number eight, not 12, as its website states. The Metroparks also said the police force was established in 1920 but the first officer was not hired until 1921.