Heritage crime

Historic buildings, archaeological monuments, shipwrecks and other heritage assets such as coins, statues or archives are at risk of criminal activity just like modern assets, from laptops to rail networks.

But when historic places or their associated artefacts are damaged or stolen, we could lose a piece of the past forever. Damage may be beyond repair. Stolen objects might never be found or recovered.

Heritage crime is any criminal activity which harms a heritage asset. The victims aren’t just the owners of the asset. The communities these places are part of also suffer.

Despite the effects of time, weather, environmental change, or even damage from ancient feuds and wars, much of Scotland’s rich historic past is still accessible to us all.

But heritage crime robs us of this history, and its cost and impact on communities is enormous – not just in monetary value but in social costs.

We need to prevent it happening for everyone to benefit.

If you know of a heritage crime:

• report it to Police Scotland by calling 101 or

• contact CrimeStoppers anonymously by phone on 0800 555 111 or online