Heritage Crime

Heritage crime may be defined as 'any offence which harms the value of Northern Ireland’s heritage assets and their settings to this and future generations.'

Heritage locally includes:

• World Heritage Site
• Scheduled monuments
• Listed Buildings
• Conservation Areas
• Protected marine wreck sites
• Registered Parks and Gardens
• Registered Battlefields
• Undesignated but acknowledged heritage buildings

Planning laws protect certain named heritage properties, such as Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments, against damage and unlicensed alteration.

Theft, criminal damage, arson and anti-social behaviour can also cause harm to heritage.

How widespread is heritage crime?

This is difficult to measure because of the way it is currently recorded and because victims often don’t report it.

Unfortunately, there has been a recent upsurge in arson attacks against Listed Buildings in Northern Ireland, with results ranging from minor scorch damage to the complete loss of interiors. The worst of these was the fire at Herdman’s Mill in Sion Mills, County Tyrone in late July.

As a result of this increased criminal activity, the Minister for the Environment, Alex Attwood, called a Heritage Crime SummitHeritage Crime Summit on Monday 15 August 2011. The summit included bodies such as the Fire and Rescue service, the Police, Building Control, English Heritage, local heritage bodies and the NIEA.

What’s happening elsewhere?

In England, a new voluntary national network was set up this year, with its first conference in February. It is known as the Alliance to Reduce Crime against Heritage (ARCH) and will take forward plans to tackle heritage crime and promote local action as part of the Heritage Crime Initiative. The main objective of the group is to reduce the amount of crime that causes damage to or affects the enjoyment of heritage in England.

You can view the English Heritage Crime website.