Crimes in churches
Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FIN/26/004158/Z
Version Date: 02/02/2026
The Performance Analysis Department has provided the following information:
To obtain the below information, the Performance Analysis Department undertook searches on the Niche Crime Universe on Business objects for the main crime types of theft, violence against the person and criminal damage. The location subtype was filtered for church yard and church/religious place.
Searches were also undertaken on the metal theft Annual Data Return (ADR) which is reviewed monthly and pulls through keywords such as cables, lead, and metal.
- How many crimes have been recorded by your force involving theft from/at churches or from/at church property from January 1 2025 - December 31 2025?
There have been four occurences of theft; two in March, one in September and one in June.
a) If possible, please could you clarify how many of the thefts recorded relate to lead being taken from the church roof?
Two of the four occurrences were in relation to lead on a church roof.
2. How many crimes have been recorded by your force involving assault (physical/violent) at churches or on church property from January 1 2025 - December 31 2025?
One occurrence of violence against the person at/on church property was recorded in July.
3. How many crimes have been recorded of vandalism by your force on churches or on church property from January 1 2025 - December 31 2025?
Two occurrences of criminal damage; one in June and one in September.