The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parks Police is a body of constables responsible for policing the parks and open spaces of the
London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...
. In 2013, it was merged with the
Hammersmith and Fulham Parks Constabulary
The Hammersmith and Fulham Parks Constabulary was a small constabulary responsible for policing the parks and open spaces of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2013, it merged with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parks P ...
to form the
Parks Police Service
The Parks Police Service was a small constabulary responsible for policing 87 parks and open spaces in the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham. The police force was created through the merger of Hammersmith and Fulham ...
. Then, in July 2019 The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parks Police moved away from The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Parks Constabulary, once again becoming a single service.
Organisation and Duties
![Park police on bikes, Holland Park - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Park_police_on_bikes%2C_Holland_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_788999.jpg)
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parks Police is part of the Community Safety Department and provides a uniformed body of constables across the twenty-five parks and open spaces in the
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, to detect and deter crime.
Officers
The Parks Police consists of two Sergeants and nine Constables.
The two Sergeants report to the RBKC Council Senior Community Safety Officer.
Their specific duties include:
*reporting crime within the parks
*dealing with anti-social behaviour
*detaining offenders
*enforcing bye-laws and the dog control public spaces protection orders
*security at park events
*dog chipping and dog shows
*attending park user group meetings
*crime prevention
*lost property in parks
*truancy patrols.
Applicants considered to be Parks Police Constables are expected to have previous experience as an attested constable (regular officer or
Special Constable) with a Home Office force,
British Transport Police
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or the now disbanded
Royal Parks Constabulary
The Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) was the police force formerly responsible for the Royal Parks in London and a number of other locations in Greater London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. Unlike most other police forces operating in England ...
.
Powers
Members of the constabulary are sworn in as constables under article 18 of the ''Greater London Parks and Open Spaces Order 1967'', meaning they have powers of a constable to deal with bye-laws relating to parks and open spaces under their control.
They are warranted
constables
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
providing a police service, and as such have powers of arrest, power to seize illicit drugs, and authority to carry police weapons (such as
batons).
Arrests
In 2008, the constabulary made 30 arrests, mainly for possession of drugs, minor thefts and antisocial behaviour.
Uniform and Equipment
The Constables wear a typical British police uniform, which includes:
*white shirt
*black tie (male) or crevat (female)
*dark blue or black trousers
*black peaked cap with black and white chequered capband with RBKC Parks Police capbadge (male)
*black bowler cap with black and white chequered capband with RBKC Parks Police capbadge (female)
*black or dark blue trousers
*black stab vest with RBKC Parks Police logo and wording
*high-visibility jackets.
All constables have and wear a
collar number
A collar number, also known as a shoulder number, force identification number (FIN) or occasionally as force number (although this can also refer to the ID number of a force itself), identifies constable, police officers, police community suppor ...
when in uniform, which is on their epaulettes in operational dress.
Equipment
Park Police constables are warranted constables and therefore carry expandable batons, as well as handcuffs, radios, body worn video-cameras, incapacitant or defence spray and other police equipment.
Parks Police use motor vehicles and pedal cycles to patrol, as well as carrying out usual foot patrols.
In 2021, the Parks Police introduced two new vehicles:
*BMW Hybrid vehicle
*Nissan Electric vehicle
both liveried with yellow-and-blue
Battenburg markings
Battenburg markings or Battenberg markings are a pattern of high-visibility markings developed in the United Kingdom in the 1990s and currently seen on many types of emergency service vehicles in the UK, Crown dependencies, British Overseas T ...
and equipped with blue lights.
Ranks
There are two ranks within the RBKC Parks Police.
Relationship with other police
The parks are not a separate
police area
A police area is the area for which a territorial police force in the United Kingdom is responsible for policing.
Every location in the United Kingdom has a designated territorial police force with statutory responsibility for providing poli ...
and as such are part of the
Metropolitan Police District. Therefore, the
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
are ultimately statutorily responsible for policing the parks and the investigation of crime committed within them. The RBKC Parks Police between 2013 and 2019 was merged with the
Hammersmith and Fulham Parks Constabulary
The Hammersmith and Fulham Parks Constabulary was a small constabulary responsible for policing the parks and open spaces of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2013, it merged with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parks P ...
.
See also
*
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most law enforcement is carried out by police officers serving in regional po ...
*
*
Hammersmith and Fulham Parks Constabulary
The Hammersmith and Fulham Parks Constabulary was a small constabulary responsible for policing the parks and open spaces of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2013, it merged with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parks P ...
References
External links
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parks Police website
{{LB Kensington and Chelsea
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
*Police
Park police forces of London