One in four churches will suffer from theft, vandalism or an arson attack each year, according to a specialist insurer. Ecclesiastical says the number of reported thefts from churches had increased by 71pc in 2017, when compared to the number of incidents reported in 2013 (the lowest number reported in the last five years).
And with church buildings increasingly being used by more and more local community groups, the type of items being stored in them is becoming more diverse. The ten most unusual items stolen from churches were:
– zorbing balls, a flat-packed shed, ivory keys from a church organ, an umbrella stand, a bench, a church bell weighing a third of a ton, a wafer box, wool, boot scrapers; and a church minister’s cloak.
The five most common items stolen from churches were:
– PA systems, musical instruments, gardening equipment, stones (walls, coping stones); and metal such as lead, copper and silverware.
David Parkinson, risk management technical services manager at Ecclesiastical, said: “Whilst locking away silverware and valuable artefacts may be automatic, church members might not necessarily realise how attractive other items and contents can be to thieves. Items that can be used in a domestic setting such as benches and chests, smaller portable ornaments and items made from precious metals are also targets for thieves. If you look through the list there really are some strange things that have been stolen, so our message is if it’s valuable, of historic significance or easy to steal, then keep it somewhere safe.”
As well as zorbing balls for exercise classes, more unusual items stolen from churches including a stained glass window. The insurer hopes that the lists will help people think about the property that they are storing in their church buildings and its potential value to thieves.
“Thefts from churches often impact the whole community, as the equipment stolen is often used by community groups based at the church. Many thefts are opportunistic, so we are just reminding people to regularly review their security arrangements to reduce the opportunity for would be thieves.”
The insurer also offered some steps to improve security:
Lock your church at night
If possible, have a steward in place when the church is open to the public
Store portable and valuable items securely, eg. in a safe or locked vestry/office
Ask neighbours to keep an eye out and report suspicious activity
Consider installing an intruder alarm or CCTV
Keep an inventory of church contents, including photographs of items
Consider security marking valuable items.
Picture by Mark Rowe, Cubley Church, Derbyshire.
