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ON THE LOOKOUT: PCSO Julie Jefferson and Father Paul Daly.
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Watching out for church vandals
by Amy Glendinning30/ 4/2008
POLICE are hoping to recruit residents to keep an eye on their local churches in a bid to prevent vandalism and thefts of metal from the buildings.
The ‘Worship Watch’ scheme is being launched across Heywood to encourage people living near churches to be vigilant in reporting suspicious behaviour.
It is hoped that with residents’ help the police will be able to apprehend vandals and thieves who have been targeting churches in the town.
The scheme, which was launched this week after a meeting between police and church representatives, is based on a similar one in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, which proved highly successful in reducing church-related crimes.
Police have this week been distributing letters asking local residents to report any suspicious activity around the churches near where they live or worship.Log sheets will also be available for residents to fill in to monitor any suspicious activity which may provide useful information to the police.
PCSO Julie Jefferson, who is organising the scheme along with Inspector Darrell Butterworth, said: "The scheme is about residents living near a church, or those that have regular involvement with a church, being more vigilant and reporting things to us.
"If people see something they think is suspicious, extra information such as numbers or descriptions of people and what time they came and went will really help us.Diary or log sheets will be available for residents to fill in if they wish as this can make it easier to remember and record information."
The Rev Lesley Reading, vicar of Saint James’ Church on Tower Street, which has suffered the thefts of its lightning conductor, altar rail and lectern, said: "I hope the scheme will be successful because all the churches have suffered with varying degrees of thefts, vandalism and anti-social behaviour.I think even those people who don’t attend church regularly don’t like to see vandalism and thefts, so we are hoping to get some support from our neighbours."
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