Lead theft from church roofs

Metal theft from churches is a crime that has been with us for centuries. Protecting them is crucial to prevent irreparable damage to these historic buildings – and a solution can be found in modern day security systems.

“They’d steal the lead from a church roof!” is an age old description of someone with a particularly low character. Being a victim of theft is bad enough, but what often goes unappreciated is the devastation that lead theft can cause to historic buildings.

In January 2021, a gang of four lead thieves were sentenced to over 20 years in jail after causing two million pounds of damage to rural churches across England. The damage to one 14 th century church was valued at £250,000, with loss of lead causing water to leak into the building, damaging the interior and contents.

To compound the problem, the high location of metal on church roofs also means that theft can often go unnoticed for some time, increasing the chances of damage, and many churches have no access to insurance against this kind of threat.

The frequency of metal theft correlates quite closely with the price of lead, copper and other metals. When metal prices soared in the early 2010’s, metal theft reached record highs, and with the value of scrap metal surging once again, so too are the number of thefts.

So, how can we protect these important buildings, often the centre of community life? The answer might just be found in modern day technology. More specifically, installing a security system by an approved installer.

Ecclesiastical, the specialist church insurance company recommends the following:

• Restrict vehicle access to the building using gates, fences and bollards.
• Work with your local police force.
• Ask your community to be vigilant in reporting any suspicious behaviour.
• Deter thieves using security lights, CCTV and by cutting back any trees/plants which could hide criminal activity.
• Take extra care while any building works are in progress – scaffolding, building equipment and ladders left around the church will make life easier for thieves.
• Use a forensic security marking system to mark your metal and display the signs as a visual deterrent.
• Invest in a roof alarm, they can be extremely effective.

Here at Mint Security, we’re NSI Silver accredited installers and maintainers of a wide range of security solutions. As such, the recommendations listed above like security lights, CCTV systems and roof alarms are all things we can help with.

Security Lighting
Thieves like to work in the cover of darkness when they’re unlikely to be seen. Bright security lights that are triggered by the thieves and their vehicles can be a strong deterrent to ward off would be thieves.

Roof Alarms and Perimeter Security
Perimeter detection systems incorporate technology such as infra-red beams, movement detectors, thermal imaging cameras and CCTV video analytics (such as line-crossing) to trigger alerts if would be thieves gain access to the church roof.

When a roof alarm detects an intruder, sirens and alarm sounders can be triggered as well as the playing out of automated warning messages. An alert can also be sent to the mobile phone of a church warden or volunteer or even a dedicated monitoring station.

Placing perimeter detection systems in strategic positions around the roof, will make life much more difficult for potential lead thieves.

CCTV
CCTV cameras provide a visible deterrent to criminals who target churches. We offer a wide range of CCTV solutions, including Ultra HD 4k cameras that can be viewed remotely by church staff on their smartphones. This works very well in combination with a roof alarm, as it allows church staff to verify any alarm activations without having to be on site. Smart cameras also offer video analytics such as line-crossing, which only trigger an alert if the intruder crosses a particular point in the cameras field of view. This is really useful when you’re looking to protect a specific area of the church building like the roof.

Chris Watson, Managing Director at Mint Security Systems says, “Taking measures to prevent crime, damage to property and potentially thousands of pounds in repair and restoration costs is a worthy investment.

“We work with churches and other historical buildings to put effective security measures in place that are cost effective, provide peace of mind and deter metal thieves.

“Church buildings are often at the heart of local communities and, alongside the usual weddings, funerals, baptisms and Sunday services, they can host everything from baby and toddler groups through to social clubs for the elderly or isolated – protecting these cherished buildings and avoiding disruption is vital, and we can help!”

If you would like to speak to us about deterring metal theft from your church please contact Mint on 01246 888 444 or email [email protected]