MORE than 9000 crimes committed on church property and other religious premises were recorded between January 2022 and December 2024, the Countryside Alliance reports.
The data gathered by the campaign group was obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all the UK’s territorial police forces. Thirty-three of 45 police forces provided figures.
The 9148 records of crimes reported include theft, burglary, criminal damage, vandalism, arson, and assault. The Countryside Alliance estimates that, “on average, at the least eight crimes took place at churches each day over the three-year period.”
The report says that “179 lead and metal thefts were recorded, together with 3,758 other thefts and burglaries, 3,237 incidents of criminal damage, vandalism and arson, and 1,974 cases of violence.”
It goes on to say: “Some forces don’t log ‘church’ as a constructing type specifically, and should as an alternative log location as ‘religious constructing’. For the avoidance of doubt, I would really like data related to spiritual buildings on this instance.”
In the info provided by the campaign group, Bedfordshire Police responded in full to the FOI request: 185 crimes had been recorded at churches and mosques within the county. Of these, 171 were at churches and the opposite 14 were at mosques.
The report also says that the West Midlands Police responded in full, but “offered the caveat that a few of these crimes may not have happened at a church, but could possibly be from incidents where a church was the closest identifiable landmark, and so was noted as such of their database”.
The director of external affairs on the Countryside Alliance, Mo Metcalf-Fisher, said in a press release: “Churches and places of worship are the beating heart of many rural towns and villages. They are supposed to be places of sanctity, solace, and refuge. Increasingly, nonetheless, they appear to be being subjected to awful acts of crime frequently.
“We cannot allow these cherished places to proceed to be unprotected against the machinations of criminals — it’s important that the general public keep a watchful eye and report any issues to the police.”
A Church of England spokeswoman said: “Against the law committed at a church is an actual setback — not only for its congregation, but for all those that profit from its presence of their community.”
The report refers to several incidents, including the theft of a brass eagle from a Victorian lectern at St Augustine’s, Edgbaston, last June (News 21 June 2024); and £90,000-worth of things were stolen, and damage inflicted, during an overnight break-in at Sherborne Abbey, in August (News 16 August 2024).
The National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for heritage crime, Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Nolan, said: “Stealing from, or damaging, any places of worship, historic buildings, and cultural sites is abhorrent.
“Churches are essential to many communities across the country, and these crimes directly impact individuals who visit, worship, and luxuriate in those spaces. They are attacks on our national and native heritage, and could cause irreplaceable damage.
“We are committed to tackling this issue, and our heritage crime officers across the country will proceed to work with partners to scale back offending and lift awareness concerning the long-lasting damage heritage crime can have. We ask everyone to report anything suspicious online, via 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers, and have some great Heritage Watch schemes across the country people can join.”
The Alliance’s report says that data obtained over the past seven years suggests a complete of 39,544 crimes recorded since 2017, with 15,506 thefts, 11,253 cases of criminal damage and arson, and 4568 cases of violence.
The group has called on the Government to “extend and guarantee future funding and promotion of the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme, provided freed from charge by the Home Office to guard places of worship and associated community centres in England and Wales”.
Additionally, it’s “pushing for the event of a latest aggravated offence referring to the loss or damage of heritage assets”.
