A new security firm is being brought in to patrol Hounslow 's parks following nearly 600 reports of crimes and antisocial behaviour in the space of three years.
Hounslow Council has enlisted Parkguard, which already provides patrols in neighbouring Ealing and Richmond , in an attempt to improve safety.
The company, which is accredited by police , will take responsibility for security on a one-year trial basis, beginning this August.
Enforcement officers will initially focus on crime hot spots at Beaversfield Park, in Hounslow West; Thornbury Park, Isleworth ; Inwood Park, Hounslow; Sutton Playing Fields, Hounslow; and Kingsley playground, Hounslow.
The council says the new service will be funded from its existing parks budget, and it will look to cover the cost by reducing the £135,000 spent each year on locking park gates.
It says its contract with Carillion, which is responsible for maintaining the borough's parks, does not cover enforcement, and the council's own enforcement team lacks the necessary resources.
Existing arrangement 'inefficient' and 'unsustainable'
Councillor Corinna Smart, the council's cabinet member for leisure, approved the pilot scheme last Wednesday (July 6).
She said in a report that the current system, in which the council's parks team is supported by police, is "inefficient" and "unsustainable".
She said reducing crime and improving safety were residents' top priorities for the borough's parks, in which there were over 583 crimes and incidents of antisocial behaviour reported to police between 2013 and 2015.
"The targeted pilot trial of 12 months will be employing enforcement officers and include a dog handler and a dedicated vehicle," Cllr Smart wrote in her report.
"The service will be monitored and evaluated at the end of the trial. The evaluation of the pilot will include data gathering on park specific crime and ASB."
She added that pilot scheme would deal with a range of issues not falling under the remit of council contractor Carillion, including travellers, rough sleepers, horse grazing, vehicles and work with the community to prevent antisocial behaviour.
Park gates to be left open overnight
Subhash Mahajan, of the Friends of Beaversfield Park, said he had been told the gates would now be kept open at night but there would be patrols and a new hotline for people to report any trouble.
He said when the gates were locked, people would often climb over them at night and drink in the park, disturbing local residents and leaving behind litter.
"Let's give this a go. If it works better than keeping the gates locked at night that would be good," he added.
In April this year, six knives were handed in to police after being found hidden in a flowerbed at a park in Hounslow.
Earlier this year, horses were moved from a Hounslow field where they had been left to graze illegally , after they wandered onto a busy road.
