Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of legislating to ensure that all crimes committed (a) on and (b) against a designated heritage site are provided with a single heritage crime recording code.

Legislation is not required to introduce a specific crime recording code within the Home Office Counting Rules for police recorded crime.

At present, one offence relating to designated heritage sites damage to certain ancient monuments under Section 28 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 is recorded within the broader category of criminal damage.

There are no plans to introduce a separate recording code to disaggregate ‘heritage crime’ from the broader range of offences which may be committed at designated heritage sites in addition to damage, including crimes such as theft. This is because, in introducing new categories, consideration needs to be given to the insight such additional data will yield when compared to the additional administrative burden it will place on police forces. Unless such incidents are investigated by specialist heritage crime officers, it is unlikely that most investigating officers will know whether a damaged site is a scheduled heritage site or be aware of the need to record such incidents under such specific codes.