There is one parking warden according to figures revealed by the BBC
For every two policemen patrolling the streets of some London Boroughs there is one parking warden according to figures revealed by the BBC.
A Freedom of Information request showed that there are just under 3,000 officers keeping are streets safe from criminals compared with the 900 parking wardens on patrol on an average day.
Matthew Elliott, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, believes that Taxpayers would rather more money was spent on catching criminals than fining people for petty parking offences. He told the BBC,
"If the proportion of police to traffic wardens is this out of kilter in central London - where so many police are deployed to protect key government buildings - it must be even worse elsewhere."
He continued: "I find it very surprising. People would expect traffic wardens to be equivalent to about 10% of the police force at most."
However a spokeswoman for London Councils disagreed saying, "Parking enforcement is carried out to keep London moving, to maintain the safety of all road users and to ensure limited parking space is available for those who need it."
Wandsworth Borough was ranked number three in the areas with the most wardens on duty closely followed by Kensington & Chelsea.
August 4, 2009