Following the damage to graves in the Muslim section of the Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery, south of Watford, on 13th April 2025 , Police officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary provided briefings at a community meeting organised by the Bushey Islamic Centre (BIC) on 16 April 2025, attended by over 300 concerned family members, local councillors, mosque trustees from nearby London boroughs and Muslim burial associations and an interfaith representation.
The damage to 61 plaques and headstones, and in some cases removal of topsoil, is now being pursued by the Constabulary as an Islamophobic hate crime. Many graves affected were of babies and young children. Carpenders Park is the cemetery of choice for the large Muslim populations residing in Harrow and Brent.
There were many distraught next of kin present, who had yet to be provided details of the graves damaged. Brent Council officials present reported that this was their priority, and work was under way to locate family contact details from grave ownership records.
No suspect individual or group has yet been identified. Police resources have been allocated to review road CCTV footage and analysis of forensic data. An appeal for witnesses has also been issued, with an on-site Police presence at the cemetery between 7 am and 10 pm, supplemented with out of hours ‘casual patrols’.
The Constabulary was criticised for initially describing the incident as vandalism, rather than an Islamophobic hate crime. An assurance was provided that the required resources have now been committed to this investigation. Community members present also urged for a coordinated strategy across police forces ensure the safety and protection of other Muslim cemeteries.
In a gesture much appreciated by those present, the representative from Bushey United Synagogue indicated his solidarity with BIC, noting that based on the experience of the Community Security Trust (CST) there was potentially useful information that could be shared with the authorities in tracking down those responsible.