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<p>The Church of England does not hold data on thefts centrally, but it is kept by
local police forces, Historic England and the insurance industry.</p><p>The most prominent
form of property theft from churches is that of metal (mainly lead from roofs) and
of historic building materials such as flagstones. These are items with a high resale
value and which, once removed, can be difficult to identify as coming from a particular
place. Because of the largely historic nature of the buildings targeted these thefts
are counted as heritage crime. This issue does not just affect churches; it is so
widespread that it is the subject of a joint project and Memorandum of Understanding
signed by the National Police Chiefs' Council, the Crown Prosecution Service, Historic
England and a growing number of local authorities, community safety partnerships and
National Park Authorities. It is an agreement to work in partnership with each other
to prevent and solve crimes against historic places.</p><p>The Church of England is
an active partner in identifying and tackling heritage crime, especially metal theft.
The church is part of Operation Crucible, the police-led initiative investigating
metal theft, and it has become clear over recent years that this form of criminal
behaviour is now being undertaken by organised gangs. The earlier changes to the law
did initially lead to a drop in reported incidences, but recently the issue has again
become more widespread. The Church of England submitted evidence to the review of
the Scrap Metal Dealers Act in 2017 asking the Government to tighten up the Act to
better reflect the changing behaviour of both the scrap metal trade and the organised
criminal activity.</p><p>Due to the highly mobile nature of this form of organised
criminal activity and without increased resource, it is hard to see how police and
heritage crime officers will be able to address the increase in thefts we are seeing
across the country. Thefts are moving gradually west and north along the major transport
routes. This year the Church has had the first reports of metal and stone theft in
the Bath & Wells Diocese and in the Yorkshire Dioceses. Tightening up of the law,
therefore, needs to be accompanied by increased police resources and greater political
will.</p><p>Parish churches are maintained by volunteers on behalf of the local community.
Aside from the financial impact of these thefts, the impact on communities is significant.
The social and community impact of the crime, as well as the criminal damage to listed
buildings, needs to be addressed at sentencing, as even the theft of small amounts
of lead or stone cost has a huge impact on local people. These buildings represent
our country’s local and national heritage. Due to the highly mobile nature of criminal
gangs, it is essential that police and local churches work together to ensure that
heritage crime does not become a decreasing priority for police forces.</p>
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