Theft of 'religious icon' from cathedral not considered a hate crime

The recent theft of a "religious icon" from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Saint John and subsequent discarding of it in a dumpster is not being treated as a hate crime, say police.

Although the case was documented as a hate crime on the Saint John Police Force's crime mapping system, it was only classified as such because of the way the program is designed, stressed Sgt. Lori Magee.

There is nothing to indicate at this time that this incident is anything more than damage to property, a senseless act.- Lori Magee, Saint John Police Force

"The phrase 'hate crime' has caused a heightened interest in this matter. There is nothing to indicate at this time that this incident is anything more than damage to property, a senseless act," Magee said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Should we receive additional calls to the cathedral for this sort of activity and feel it is being targeted for any reason we would certainly look at the matter in greater depth," she said.

The religious icon, which was taken from the altar area of the uptown cathedral, was described by the priest to the reporting officer Monday, as "priceless, one-of-a-kind and hand-painted," said Magee.

It was damaged after being tossed in the dumpster behind the Waterloo Street church, she said.

Under the police force's reporting system, there is a drop down box for mischief, which includes mischief to a religious item, which the responding officer selected, said Magee.

"Unfortunately whoever designed that program included the phrase 'hate crime' to accompany that drop down box," she said.

"It is an automated system which is designed to automatically populate the crime mapping system with that information."

The investigation is ongoing. Police are currently looking for any video surveillance.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which opened in 1853, is New Brunswick's first Catholic cathedral.

It is one of the few structures that survived The Great Fire of 1877 and is currently undergoing a $10-million restoration.