Royal Parks Constabulary power to instigate criminal proceedings for offences committed in the Royal Parks. The force did not originally police Hyde Park. Instead, because of the potential for trouble at Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park was policed by The Metropolitan Police from 1867 until 1993. At the beginning of 1993 the policing of Hyde Park was handed over to the Royal Parks Constabulary. On 1 April 2004, following a review of the Royal Parks Constabulary by Anthony Speed, the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit of the Metropolitan Police took on the responsibility of policing the Royal Parks in Greater London. The Serious Organised
Parks and open spaces in London including 3,000 parks and totaling 35,000 acres. The centrepieces of Greater London's park system are the eight Royal Parks of London. Covering 1976 hectares (4,882 acres), they are former royal hunting grounds which are now open to the public. Many of the smaller green spaces in central London are garden squares, which were built for the private use of the residents of the fashionable districts, but in some cases are now open to the public. Notable examples open to the public are Russell Square in Bloomsbury, Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn and Soho Square in Soho. The Royal Borough of