Royal Parks Constabulary
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The Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) was the police force 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 in the UK, the Royal Parks Constabulary did not report to the Home Office, but instead to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, who provided funding for it through the Royal Parks Agency.
The force was created in 1872 as the Royal Parks Keepers; keepers were given full police powers within the parks. They were renamed the Royal Parks Constabulary in 1974.
The Constabulary worked towards maintaining the standards of Home Office police forces and all constables were trained at regional training centres, alongside their Home Office colleagues. Unlike council-run parks constabularies, constables of the RPC enjoyed full police powers in the parks under their control and had the power to instigate criminal proceedings for offences.
On 1 April 2004, following a review of the Royal Parks Constabulary by Anthony Speed, the Metropolitan Police took on the responsibilty of policing the Royal Parks in Greater London. Many of the officers from the Royal Parks Constabulary transferred into the new Metropolitan Police Royal Parks Operational Command Unit (OCU). The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 formally abolished the Royal Parks Constabulary in England and Wales but not in Scotland where the Constabulary's powers are exercised by Historic Scotland.