The Sentencing Council has announced new guidelines regarding theft which includes, for the very first time, theft of historic objects or loss of the nations heritage. The new guidelines will apply from 1 February 2016.
Thieves who target historical objects not only threaten the nation's heritage, they can also badly damage buildings in the process of doing so. For instance, thieves have been known to steal plaques from war memorials and lead from roofs, which causes damage.
Research published by English Heritage suggested that in 2011, 200 crimes were committed in relation to listed buildings every day in England, affecting over 70,000 listed buildings. However, the new sentencing guidelines will now help the courts in sentencing decisions regarding heritage crimes and will help Historic England in their work to bring cases of theft involving loss and damage to heritage assets to court.
Mark Harrison, National Policing and Crime Adviser for Historic England, said: "The value of England’s heritage can’t be judged in pounds and pence. The impact of theft on our historic sites and buildings has far-reaching consequences over and above the financial cost of what has been stolen."
Mr Harrison added: "Heritage crime comes in many forms. When thieves steal metal from heritage assets, such as listed churches, artefacts from the ground or historic stonework from an ancient castle, they are stealing from all of us and damaging something which is often irreplaceable."
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