Birmingham Parks Police was a small police force maintained by

Birmingham Corporation Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

to police the parks and open spaces of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. They were first formed in 1912 and were disbanded in 1962, when they were replaced with

Park Rangers A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Description "Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in thi ...

History

The parks of Birmingham were, at first, patrolled by

Birmingham City Police Birmingham City Police was the police service responsible for general policing in the city of Birmingham from 1839 to 1974. The force was established by a special Act of Parliament in 1839, and was amalgamated as of 1 April 1974 with the West M ...

. In the 1880s, the Parks Committee of the Corporation applied to

Worcestershire Constabulary Worcestershire Constabulary was the territorial police force responsible for policing rural Worcestershire in central England from 1839 until 1967, when it became part of West Mercia Constabulary. History The Worcestershire Constabulary was forme ...

for additional officers to patrol

Cannon Hill Park Cannon Hill Park is a park located in south Birmingham, England. It is the most popular park in the city, covering consisting of formal, conservation, woodland and sports areas. Recreational activities at the park include boating, fishing, bowls, ...

, because whilst the park was maintained by the Corporation, it was mainly used by

ratepayer Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role ...

s of

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. In 1883, the Birmingham Corporation (Consolidation) Act permitted the Corporation to appoint park keepers as constables.section 72, Birmingham Corporation (Consolidation) Act 1883 (c. lxx) They were required to take the

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...

that a constable of the regular city police took under the

Municipal Corporations Act 1882 The Municipal Corporations Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c.50) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaced existing legislation governing municipal boroughs in England and Wales, and gave the corporations powers to make byelaws and ...

. They then had the "powers, authorities and privileges" of such a constable within the corporation's parks, whether within the limits of the city or not. In the late 1880s, reports in the

Birmingham Daily Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...

show that both Cannon Hill Park and

Calthorpe Park Calthorpe Park is a public park in Birmingham, England, created in 1857 and managed by Birmingham City Council. Geography The park lies in the Sparkbrook Ward of Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. It lies adjacent to and east of the A441 Pershor ...

had become the location for

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

s on both adults and children, and the Parks Committee was keen to have more police to patrol Cannon Hill Park. Minutes of the Parks Committee from 1907 suggest that the Committee thought that the levels of policing in the parks were insufficient, and that ordinary park employees were often left to deal with situations themselves. It was reported that: Birmingham Parks Police was founded in 1912, and went on to patrol the parks until 1962, when they were replaced by Park Rangers. After their creation, the Committee noted that criminal proceedings had been started against several people for "indecent exposure and indecent conduct with young girls in the parks". As with many occupations, women were first appointed to the Parks Police during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

- partly to replace conscripted men, but also to assist in the supervision of children who used the parks. After the war, it was also thought that female police officers might help to prevent indecent exposure and sexual assaults on children. The

National Council of Women of Great Britain The National Council of Women exists to co-ordinate the voluntary efforts of women across Great Britain. Founded as the National Union of Women Workers, it said that it would "promote sympathy of thought and purpose among the women of Great Brita ...

presented an appeal to the Parks Committee in 1924 for more police, particularly women police officers "in the interests of public morality and decency and particularly for the safeguarding of little children", complaining that the supervision of parks was inadequate, and citing several recent cases of "misconduct and indecency", particularly at Warley, Cannon Hill, Swanshurst and Sparkhill parks.BCC Parks Committee Minutes, Meeting of 5 May 1924 (BA&H: BCC 1 BO/1/1/6)

References

*Main reference
ConnectingHistories.co.uk: "Birmingham Parks Police Badge"
{{Birmingham parks Parks and open spaces in Birmingham, West Midlands History of Birmingham, West Midlands Defunct park police forces of the United Kingdom Birmingham City Police

History

See also

References