LOCAL MP BLASTS PARKS POLICE DECISION
Munira Wilson, MP for Twickenham, has branded the decision to cut the Royal Parks policing team as a “blow to community policing” following confirmation of the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) decision.
The planned cuts to the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit (OCU) come amid wider concerns about rising crime and cuts to community policing across London.
Local policing already suffered significant cuts under the previous Conservative Government, with 572 police community support officers (PCSOs) taken off the streets of London since 2015.
Now, with the Met Police having announced further cuts as it faces a funding shortfall of £260 million, residents of Twickenham – and beyond – are understandably concerned about safety in their local areas, including the Royal Parks.
“Bushy Park is a beloved nature area that plays an important part in our community life,” said Munira. “Whether it’s tackling anti-social behaviour, missing person reports, criminal offences or distress to wildlife, the dedicated Parks Police Officers play a crucial role in making sure the park is secure and safe for everyone to enjoy.”
Munira has also heard from constituents, including volunteer rangers, who are concerned that police drawn from the wider geographical area will not have the same local knowledge of the parks and surrounding areas as the dedicated OCU officers.
Munira has written to the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to ask her to provide the necessary funding to support the Met Police and maintain vital specialist police units such as the Royal Parks Police in Bushy Park.
The letter is below:
The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP
Secretary of State for the Home Office
Home Office
Direct Communications Unit
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
30 April 2025
Dear Yvette
Re: Royal Parks Police Funding Cuts
I am writing to you to express my deep concern following the recent announcement by the Metropolitan Police Service confirming the Royal Parks Police will be disbanded and responsibility for policing the Royal Parks will be subsumed by community police teams.
This announcement comes after years of Conservative cuts to the police budget which have left police forces struggling to respond to rising crime. We have seen the number of frontline police officers in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames significantly reduced, despite rising levels of knife crime as well as vehicle and bicycle theft.
Since July 2024, the Labour Government has repeatedly pledged to invest in community policing. Only recently, during the Second Reading of the Crime and Policing Bill you remarked that “We need trusted officers in the community, working to keep people safe”.
That is exactly what the Royal Parks Police – responsible for policing Bushy Park in my Twickenham constituency – are. They are trusted officers with extensive and expert knowledge of the parks and their byelaws, who held the trust of the local community as a result.
Constituents have regularly written to me to praise the Parks Police and express their worry about their safety in Bushy Park going forward. As well as reducing patrols in the parks themselves, relying on ward teams to police the parks will necessarily take away police time in the wards – both town centres and residential areas.
While I of course understand the challenging economic circumstances in which these decisions are being made by the commissioner, this decision is a significant blow to the community policing to which you are so committed.
I would urge you to take the necessary steps to ensure a continued, visible, and well-resourced policing presence in our Royal Parks and communities such as Twickenham, Teddington, the
Hamptons, St Margarets, Strawberry Hill and Whitton.
Too often, boroughs like Richmond upon Thames have been forgotten because we are considered one of the safest in London. However, Met Police data shows that crime is increasing. Knife crime increased by 51.2% in the year to February 2025, and theft by 11.6% in the same period.
It is this wider context that reinforces my concern about the loss of the Parks Police. This is a time where, as the Liberal Democrats have long been calling for, we must return to properly funded community policing.
I welcome the additional funding for the Met Police recently announced by the Government, but I would urge you to go further in closing the £260 million gap in the Met’s budget to prevent this and other cuts, such as to the schools policing team.
I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet you to discuss this matter further.