Good afternoon Resident,

I hope you have had a restful weekend. For week 3 of the 2025 A-Z of Crime Prevention Advice, I’d like to draw your attention to the topic of Criminal Damage and Arson in the St Albans district area. 

We come across incidents of criminal damage in many forms. From a legal perspective, criminal damage involves the damaging or destroying of property which does not belong to the perpetrator. The damage can be caused deliberately or recklessly and does not necessarily have to be permanent. Incidents where property has been damaged deliberately or recklessly due to a fire would be classified as an arson. 

Anybody can become a victim of criminal damage as offenders can choose to damage anything. Repeat incidents of criminal damage which are similar in nature often escalate from anti-social behaviour, which can have a detrimental effect on the wider community. Acts of criminal damage committed by young people in groups can be perceived as a ‘gateway crime’, i.e. a crime which could lead to more serious criminal activity if unchallenged. 

Common examples of criminal damage affecting the community reported in the St Albans district are; doors or fences being kicked, vehicle wing mirrors being smashed, and graffiti / paint vandalism. What we have noticed is many of these incidents are shared among community groups or via social media, but not reported directly to the Police. It is important that you report these incidents to us so we can link incidents and carry out relevant enquiries, and allow us to create targeted patrols to identify any offenders. We will always deal with incidents proportionately, for instance, by working with schools if these acts are being carried out by young people. Prompt reporting of a crime or incident of anti-social behaviour increases our chances of being able to identify who is responsible and take appropriate action to prevent it from happening to someone else. 

Don’t forget, you don’t have to call Police to report an incident that has already happened. You can report online by clicking the following link: Report a crime | Hertfordshire Constabulary .

Thank you for reading. What topic would you like to read about next week? 

Kind regards,

PC Fiona Hitchcock