Worry Over 'Disappearance' of Parks' Police

11.46.12am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 6th Jul 2005

Vincent Cable MP has written to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to ask what has happened to the Parks' Police who have been absorbed into the Met. There is concern by the parks' authorities that they are not available for providing security and for enforcing the parks' rules; nor are they available to the borough's police. Vincent Cable MP said that he had seen the new set of duties which ranked 'terrorism' at the top and park duties at the bottom. There are also some very unhappy officers who were too old to be absorbed into the Met's career structure and are being left in limbo: "but my concern as the local MP is that they are apparently not available to deal with vandalism and the anti-social behaviour which can occur inside the parks especially after dark in the summer period. Bushy Park is a beautiful park but vulnerable. It is easily accessed from Hampton Hill High Street, Teddington and Kingston Bridge area and quite a lot of damage could be done, with no Parks' Police or the police patrols to provide a deterrent. When the Met says that priority is 'terrorism' and violent crime, they mean central London; suburban areas, let alone parks, don't rate. I am concerned that what seemed, initially, quite a good, sensible idea for pooling resources may work to this area's disadvantage."