Crimewave engulfs UK churches and graveyards with 19 offences per day
Crimewave engulfs UK churches and graveyards with 19 offences including theft, arson and drug trafficking recorded every day
- Theft, arson and drug trafficking among 19,493 crimes in churches since 2017
- There were 2,490 cases of violence, 4,162 of criminal damage, 7,206 thefts,
- Figures come from 40 of the 45 UK police forces since January 2017
- Comes just days after a woman was raped in a graveyard in Hove, East Sussex
A crime is committed in a church or graveyard every 70 minutes in Britain, shocking new figures reveal.
Theft, arson and drug trafficking are among the 19,493 crimes recorded on church property in the UK since January 2017 – a rate of 19 a day nationwide.
In total, the range of crimes being committed on church property includes 2,490 cases of violence, 4,162 of criminal damage and 7,206 thefts, according to figures released by 40 of the 45 UK police forces.
A crime is committed every 70 minutes in a church or graveyard in Britain, according to figures released by UK police (file image)
Numerous thefts from churches included silverware items, oil stocks, public address systems and war medals from a veterans’ memorial.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher of the Countryside Alliance which provided the statistics – gained under Freedom of Information laws – said: ‘These figures paint a bleak picture of criminal attacks on our churches and religious buildings.’
There have been 940 cases of burglary through churches roof’s listed by police since January 2017 (file image)
The new figures come just days after Sussex Police revealed they were investigating reports that a woman in her 50s was raped in a graveyard by a man who sat beside her on a bench. The horrific incident is believed to have happened at dusk by St Andrew’s Church in Hove, East Sussex, on Thursday evening. Among the most serious incidents revealed in the new figures was an arson attack which ravaged the Grade II listed Church of the Ascension in Manchester in February 2017.
South Yorkshire Police released some of the most detailed figures on church crimes, which included cases of drug-trafficking, harassment and drug possession, as well as one example of ‘exposure and voyeurism’.
A case of illegal sexual activity with a child under the age of 13 was recorded in South Yorkshire in 2018, with nine further instances of sex assault on a female 13 or over.
A woman was raped at dusk by St Andrew’s Church in Hove, East Sussex, by a man who was said to have sat next to her inside the church
Malicious communications, possession of an article with a blade or point and arson endangering life were among the other crimes recorded in the region, while there were five cases of weapons possession in West Yorkshire.
The figures also reveal the scale of lead thefts from church roofs across the country, with 940 cases listed by police since January 2017.
These included the removal of the entire roof, weighing 20 tons, from the Grade I listed Church of All Saints at Houghton Conquest in Bedfordshire in October 2018.
Among the items stolen were war medals from a veterans’ memorial (file image of miniature medals)
In August, the National Crime Agency warned that, after a decade of decline, rising demand had ‘made metal theft one of the fastest-growing crimes globally’.
Mr Metcalf-Fisher added: ‘As a society, irrespective of faith, we need to be much more vigilant when it comes to watching over churches and places of worship by reporting suspicious activity.
‘It serves as a reminder of the importance of funding and pushing for visible policing, particularly in rural areas where churches are more remote.’
Forty police forces across the UK released figures on the crimes within churches from Jnauary 2017 onwards
But Becky Clark, the Church of England’s director of churches and cathedrals, told The Mail on Sunday that the Church does not believe its buildings are a particular target for crime more than houses, shops or businesses.
She said: ‘The Church of England alone has about 16,000 church buildings which first and foremost are community buildings.
‘Our experience is that one of the most effective ways of combating crime is for churches to remain open and welcoming, at the heart of their communities.’
Following the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand in March, the Home Office announced it would double the money available for the Places of Worship Security Funding scheme.
Since the scheme launched in 2016, more than £1.5 million has been awarded for security measures including CCTV, alarms and improved locks at religious buildings vulnerable to attacks.
Attacks in Britain’s jails
A record number of violent attacks using weapons such as blades has turned jails into bloody battle zones, new figures reveal.
Rampant drug use and the influence of gangs are being blamed for the 8,008 attacks using weapons recorded last year. By comparison, there were 1,473 such attacks in 2010 – a 443 per cent rise.
Ministry of Justice figures show a total of 34,435 attacks last year, both armed and unarmed, including 10,311 assaults on prison officers. Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: ‘The rise in violence started with the drastic cuts to staffing made in the name of austerity from 2012. It makes many prisons frightening places to live and work.’
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