Causing Damage to Heritage Sites Flashcards
Buildings and sites of historic interest have had some form of legal protection in the UK since when?
1882
Over the years, specific legislation has been introduced and this provides protection to many types of historic sites such as:
Scheduled monuments (an archaeological site or building that is of national importance e.g Stonehenge or Dover Castle).
Listed buildings (includes small houses, street furniture, and lighthouses over 500,000 in England alone).
Protected marine wreck sites (53 in English Coastal waters).
Protected military remains of aircraft and vessels of historic interest (includes losses during peacetime),
Conservation areas (local authority designated areas of special architectural or hisotric interest; around 9,000 in the UK).
Registered parks and gardens (gardens of stately homes, public parks, and cemeteries on a national register, over 1,600 in the UK).
Registered battlefields (46 in the UK eg at Hastings); and
World Heritage Sites.
Legislation to protect Heritage Sites
How does partnership working plan a crucial role in tackling heritage crime?
A number of bodies (local authorities, the police, and Historic England) share the responsibility of tackling heritage crime, both at a local operational level and nationally at a strategic level.
However, this is a challenging task due to the shared responsibility, the relative rarity of the incidents, and the lack of expertise and understanding of the nature of the possible ‘harm’.
The Ancient Monuments and Archeological Areas Act 1979
It is an offence under s 28 of the Act to….
Damage or destroy (without lawful excuse) a ‘protected monument’ (defined in s 28, and includes a scheduled monument).
The suspect must know that it is a protected monument and intend to to destroy or damage it, or be reckless as to whether it would be destroyed or damaged.
The Ancient Monuments and Archeological Areas Act 1979
Offence under s 28 of the Act penalty
Triable either way and the penalty is a fine and/or imprisonment (6 months if tried summarily and two years on indictment).
The Ancient Monuments and Archeological Areas Act 1979
Other sections of this Act may also be relevant to the trainee police officer, for example:
s 42 under which it is a summary offence to use a metal detector in a ‘protected place’ without the written consent of English Heritage, and an either way offence to remove an object in such circumstances).
s 9 under which it is an either way offence to damage, demolish or alter a listed building.
What is the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973
This can be used to designate an area containing a ‘protected wreck’.
All retrieved material must be reported to the ‘Receiver’ at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 makes it an offence to do what?
Interfere without a licence with the wreckage of any crashed, sunken or stranded military aircraft or designated vessel.
Offences relating to cultural objects and treasure
What is a cultural object?
When is it ‘tainted’?
Defined as an object of historical, architectural or archaeological interest.
It is tainted if a person illegally excavates an object from its original position in the ground, or removes it from a building, structure or monument of historical, architectural or archaeological interest in the UK or elsewhere.
The dishonest dealing of a tainted cultural object while knowing or believing it is tainted is what offence?
An either way offence (s 1 of the Dealing in Cultural Object (Offences) Act 2003.
What does ‘treasure’ include?
Old gold, silver or bronze coins, collections of prehistoric metalwork and objects found with such coins or metalwork (s 1 of the Treasure Act 1996).
Such finds must be reported through the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
It is a summary offence to fail to notify the district coroner within 14 days of finding treasure (s 8(3) of the Treasure Act 1996).
