Nine-year-olds reported for Keith cemetery vandalism
TWO nine-year-olds have been reported to the children’s reporter after 13 gravestones were damaged at a cemetery in a Moray town.
Police were able to trace the two juveniles, and charged them with vandalism, following the incident in the Old Keith Cemetery on April 23.
Officers were called to the scene after receiving a call from a member of the public, who witnessed the stones being vandalised.
Police investigations are also continuing into two further graveyard vandalisms which have occurred in recent weeks.
Six weeks ago, seven slabs were shattered and uprooted in the grounds of the 13th century Elgin Cathedral.
Meanwhile, officers are investigating a vandalism at Cluny Hill Cemetery, in Forres, which occurred at lunchtime on April 28.
A total of 49 headstones were toppled, several of which were more than 200 years old. Estimates put the damage in the region of tens of thousands of pounds.
This week, also in Forres, the town’s Moray Steiner School was hit by vandals.
Police said the incident at the school, which is located on Clovenside Road, occurred some time between 4.30pm on Saturday, April 30, and 8.30am on Tuesday, May 3.
Officers say the culprit or culprits smashed two windows and cracked a corrugated plastic cellar roof, before damaging a storage shed and various items of playground equipment in both the main playground and in the kindergarten play area.
Despite the recent spate, a spokesman for Moray police said the overall number of vandalisms in the region in 2010-2011 is down by more than 100 incidents, some 9.3%.
He also said there has been an increase of 4.8% in the number of detected offences.
"Vandalism is a particularly mindless crime that can often have an impact right across a whole community. The feedback regarding vandalism to our new local policing teams has been clear, and residents have asked us to make it a priority," he said.
"There is absolutely no room for complacency, however, and we are determined to build on this progress. It is important to stress that this cannot be done by the police alone and it is absolutely vital that the community continues to work with their local policing teams in order to rid our area of the scourge of vandalism."
Anyone with information on any of the incidents is asked to contact the police on 0845 600 5700 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 if wishing to remain anonymous.
