Police tackle crime with prayers

Police and Christian groups in Lincolnshire are to combine forces to tackle crime with the power of prayer.

Churches and Christian groups will get emails alerting them to crimes on which they can then focus their prayers.

The Prayer Watch scheme has been proposed by the Lincolnshire branch of the Christian Police Association (CPA).

The police said the project is mainly to encourage communities to keep an eye on the churches themselves - which are targets for burglars and vandals.

Lincolnshire Police spokesman Dick Holmes said: "In one sense it is similar to the conventional watch schemes like Neighbourhood Watch and Farm Watch in that it encourages congregations to keep an eye on church buildings.

"They are prime targets for thieves and vandals and recently there have been well-publicised spates of trouble across the county.

"Obviously there is the spiritual element which lets communities know about specific incidents in their area so they can focus their prayers on them if they wish."