London
Insurance figures in Britain show that, contrary to conventional wisdom, churches are safer when unlocked during the day. Speaking at a conference of the National Churches Tourism Group, secretary Rosemary Watts said research shows locked churches suffer twice as much crime as unlocked churches. "The very few professional church thieves will know there are no 'easy pickings' in an unlocked church and that they are very likely to be disturbed," said Ms. Watts. "Vandalism has also been shown to reduce dramatically in both urban and rural areas when churches open their doors during the week," she said.