Community safety and parks

The Parks and Open Spaces section works in partnership with several agencies to ensuring that Richmond’s parks are as safe as possible. These agencies include the police and the youth service and most importantly we want to work closely with the public.

The service has a small Parks Patrol Service. As well as regularly inspecting the fabric of the borough’s parks including playgrounds, the Patrol helps the Council to address anti-social behaviour within parks and open spaces by regularly patrolling the parks.

In common with other similar boroughs, one of Richmond’s Community Safety priorities is to reduce anti-social behaviour. This includes graffiti and other types of ‘vandalism’.

The number of Metropolitan Police Safer Neighbourhood teams in the London Borough of Richmond has grown steadily over the last two years. These are crucial in police plans to combat anti social behaviour. Working as small teams, based and operating in local areas their priority is to address anti-social behaviour. They get to know and work with the local community and their work is, to a degree, prioritised by local people’s concerns. The Parks section and Parks Patrol have forged links with these teams and are beginning to work closely with them.

Any reports received of anti-social behaviour in the parks either from members of the public or from Parks Officers are passed to the Police and the borough’s Community Safety Unit. Patrols by the Parks Patrol and local Safer Neighbourhood Teams are then increased in those particular ‘hotspots’.

You can help us. Please contact us if you encounter anti social or inappropriate behaviour in any of our parks.