Source: Liverpool Daily Post
On May 10, 2004 the Liverpool Daily Post reported, "Britian's biggest conference on crime against religious leaders and places of worship has been cancelled due to lack of interest, it emerged last night. Organiser Churchwatch was forced to pull the plug at the last minute after they sold just 22 of 200 advance tickets for the event, due to start today at the Holiday Inn hotel in Liverpool...The event was intended to provide a national forum for high-ranking law and order representatives and leaders of different faiths, to thrash out a crime prevention strategy. It was scheduled after alarming figures revealed an average of two assaults or robberies take place on the religious community every day in Cheshire and Merseyside. Last year, the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, warned a tide of crime on ministers and religious buildings was leaving deprived areas without clergy...Last night, Rev Harry Ross, of the Liverpool branch of Churchwatch, put the failure down to a slow response to invites from delegates, but pledged he will organise a regional conference by the end of the year."