Dismay in Langenthal BE Unknown persons have been stealing grave decorations from cemeteries for months

Unknown persons keep stealing grave decorations from the cemetery in Langenthal BE. Those affected are dismayed, the administration and the police have been informed, but video surveillance is out of the question.

"Stealing from a grave is a no-go", says a resident of the Langenthal BE cemetery to 20 Minuten. "It's a disturbance of the peace of the dead." And yet flowers and other grave decorations or solar lamps are still disappearing from the local cemetery: "These thefts seem to happen again and again in waves," says the 65-year-old.

One woman says that an orchid was recently removed from her mother's grave: "It's sad and thought-provoking that we've already reached the point where people are stealing from a cemetery," she tells the commuter newspaper. Because nothing is destroyed in the process, an animal is out of the question as the culprit, she continues.

"Surveillance is not proportionate to the theft"

The cemetery administration is aware of the problem, "but we can only react if people report the thefts to us," explains a member of staff at the nursery. The police are then called in. People walking through the cemetery with flowers is of course not suspicious.

Cases have been reported to the city "very rarely" - "most recently about a month ago", she told "20 Minuten". Video surveillance is out of the question. Firstly, because of the size of the area and the many entrances. Secondly, because of the nature of the crime: "The surveillance is not proportionate to the theft."