POLICE 5
Parks & rides
AT THE start of the year, Metropolitan
Police chief Sir Mark Rowley described disbanding the Royal Parks Police as a “worst-case scenario”. Now, the Met says, a £260m budget shortfall means 1,700 police, staff and community officers will be axed – including the Royal Parks Police.
Responsibility for covering 5,000 acres including Hyde Park, Green Park, Richmond Park, Greenwich Park and Regent’s Park, will now fall to safer neighbourhood teams (SNTs) and other officers already in high demand.