Background and Aims
This is a newly formed Group, agreed by the Board of Directors in October 2022. The area of interest for the Heritage Crime Group is heritage and cultural property crime - terrestrial and maritime. Heritage crime is defined as: ‘Any offence involving damage or loss to the historic environment, including all offences involving cultural property.’ Cultural property in this instance includes artefacts associated with any aspect of the historic environment.'
With new sentencing guidelines for England & Wales and a decade of Heritage crime being studied and challenged, archaeologists are increasingly being called upon as police volunteers and Heritage Crime Advisers to provide a range of investigative and prosecution support including the writing of Impact Statements to support sentencing uplifts. While heritage organisations and law enforcement agencies are working together to better understand the impact of heritage crime, prosecute offenders and help prevent future crimes, This SIG is a hub for both sectors to promote awareness, training and continuing partnership working.
The aims of the Heritage Crime SIG are:
- To raise awareness of the impact of heritage and cultural property crime.
- To help prevent heritage and cultural property crime through signposting of resources including training and guidance.
- To bring together interested parties to identify partnerships and opportunities across heritage and law enforcement.
- To explore with the CIfA Board of Directors the establishment of a register and panel of experts in heritage and cultural property crime.
Join the Group
The Group is open to anybody with interests, concerns or involvement with the group aims, and is free to CIfA members through the Members area login. Those who are not members of the institute will need to pay an annual £10 fee and can join here.
Twitter: Follow us on Twitter- @CIfA_HC!
Group Email: please email images, events, good news, articles and links to groups@archaeologists.net with 'Heritage Crime Group' in the subject line.
Group Committee
Paul Jeffery (Chair)
Aisling Nash (Secretary)
Annie Partridge (Treasurer)
Alison James
Jenny Kent
Jonathan Berry
Jonathan Gladwin
Peter Reavill
Future events
For information about other upcoming events, please visit our event calendar.
Three year plan
To be agreed
AGM minutes
Forming AGM held in May 2023, minutes to follow.
Committee minutes
To follow shortly
