Blackmail, theft, and threats to kill were just some of the 110 “Christmas crimes” recorded by Essex police last year.
This data comes from a Freedom of Information request asking police to provide details of any crimes that took place where the word “Christmas” was included in the offence description.
From festive letters intended to cause distress, to an alleged Christmas dinner theft, these are the crimes which are certainly not what Christmas is all about.
Nearly a third of the festive-themed crimes were thefts
A total of 30 of thefts that related to Christmas took place last year.
There were six occasions where items were stolen from vehicles, two instances where a person was robbed, and one occasion where a vehicle was actually stolen.
There were 14 cases of criminal damage
These festive-themed crimes involved criminal damage to vehicles, homes and businesses.
Nine threatening letters were reported
While most of us expect Christmas cards to be dropping through the letterbox, nine of the festive-themed offences were categorised as letters that had been sent with the intent to cause distress or anxiety.
On top of these crimes, there was also one count of sexual assault recorded by police during the Christmas Celebrations.
There was even one threat to kill during the festivities.
Shoplifting Christmas dinner
There were also reports of two women allegedly stealing a Christmas dinner worth of food from Waitrose in Southend-on-Sea, two days before the big day.
Then there was also a man who was stabbed on Christmas Eve after a brawl with more than 100 people involved in Stanford-le-Hope.
Out of the 43 police forces in the UK, 34 replied to the Freedom of Information request.
In total, 4,576 crimes took place across the country in December last year that related to the word “Christmas”.
