The Red Caps are a team of

street warden A street warden is someone who patrols the streets in order to aid the police at a community level. Examples include the Red Caps of London. Street wardens (sometimes referred to as community wardens) do not have police powers, nor are they the ...

s operating in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

, U.K. They patrol

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...

and

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...

and are 11 in number. The Red Caps were launched on 30 July 2002. They are employed through the New West End Company, which looks after the interests of retail outlets in the ORB (Oxford St, Regent St, Bond St) area. The Red Caps were introduced to combat

street crime Street crime is a loose term for any criminal offense in a public place. According to London's Metropolitan Police Force, "Robbery, often called 'mugging', and thefts from victims in the street where their property is snatched and the victim is no ...

in partnership with the

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Police, though they are a

private company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

. Their duties range from security, reporting environmental issues to the council, to providing help to tourists and shoppers in the West End. In their early inception, in the days before PCSOs (

police community support officer A police community support officer (PCSO; ), or as written in legislation Community Support Officer (CSO; ), is a uniformed member of police staff in England and Wales, a role created by Section 38(2) of the Police Reform Act 2002, which was giv ...

s), the Red Caps were much more heavily involved in reducing crime, but now deterring crime goes hand in hand with

customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those who buy or use its products or services, either in person or remotely. Customer service is often practiced in a way that reflects the strategies and values of a firm, and ...

and enhancing the shopping experience for Regent Street and Oxford street. Red Caps were so named for the colour of their headwear, though in May 2009 a new uniform was introduced which saw Regent Street Red Caps in a

magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...

shade and Oxford Street in the traditional red.

References

Law enforcement in England and Wales {{Law-enforcement-stub