Baby Jesus theft is the theft of plastic or ceramic figurines of the infant Jesus from outdoor public and private nativity displays during the Christmas season. The prevalence of such thefts has caused the owners of outdoor manger scenes to protect their property with GPS devices, surveillance cameras, or by other means.
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Washington DC journalist Daniel Nasaw of the online presence of Britain's The Guardian notes that dozens of communities across America have suffered thefts of Baby Jesus figurines, and, in some instances, entire nativity scenes. He observes that it is unclear whether such theft is on the rise, as it is not tracked by federal law enforcement.[1]
In 2008, a Baby Jesus was stolen from First United Methodist Church in Kittanning, Pennsylvania and replaced with a pumpkin, and, in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a thief not only stole the Baby Jesus from a public display but absconded with the concrete block and chain that was supposed to act as a deterrent.[2] Some communities suffer repeat Baby Jesus thefts. A Baby Jesus was stolen in December 2008 from a Stony Point town display. A town official remarked, "If someone did it as a prank, I don't find it funny." The nativity had been vandalized the year before, and a menorah next to it had been toppled and broken.[3] In 2008 at Divine Savior Church Downers Grove, Illinois a baby Jesus was stolen from a nativity scene by two men in a car. A group of college students were playing roller hockey in the parking lot and chased the thieves on skates. The students obtained the license plate number of the car and called it in to the police who were able to find the car and recover the baby Jesus the same night.
Some figurines have been defaced with profanity or Satanic symbols.[2] In December 2008, for example, a fiberglass Baby Jesus valued at US$375 was stolen from a Eureka Springs, Arkansas park and later recovered, but had been defaced by racial slurs, a swastika, and a Hitler mustache. The eyes were also blacked out and pieces had been broken off, rendering it damaged beyond repair.[4]
In his autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell, Marilyn Manson admitted playing a prank in which he and a few friends stole figurines of Jesus then replaced them with hams. They sent a communique to a newspaper posing as a black radical group saying that it was a protest against "the plasticisation of the black man's wisdom with the so-called 'White Christmas'."
Some nativity display owners have taken measures to secure their property against would-be thieves. Others are reluctant to exercise such vigilance. One Indiana man who suffered the loss of his Baby Jesus figurine rebuffed suggestions to secure the figurines on his porch because, "that would be like putting Jesus in jail".[1] Traditional security measures are not always foolproof. The Baby Jesus fastened to the National Christmas Creche at Independence Hall disappeared within days.[5]
Some communities, churches, and citizens are employing electronic technology to protect their property. A Texas family, for example, positioned surveillance cameras in their yard and discovered a teenage girl stealing their Baby Jesus figurine, valued at nearly US$500.[2] In 2008, a security device distributor offered its surveillance cameras and GPS devices to 200 non-profit religious institutions for a month's use gratis. GPS protection has met with some success. In one case, after a life-size ceramic nativity figurine disappeared from the lawn of a community center in Wellington, Florida, sheriff's deputies tracked it to an apartment where it was found lying face-down on a carpet. An 18-year-old woman was arrested.[2]
While Baby Jesus thefts are largely regarded as pranks, they are set apart by the involvement of a religious icon. "They think it's a prank, but it isn't a prank to some of these people," Pennsylvania state police Corporal Paul Romanic told The Morning Call newspaper, in regards to an incident in which ten nativity scene figures were found in a yard after being stolen from across Bucks County, Pennsylvania. "Plus, it's just wrong to steal the baby Jesus."[1]
Some have wondered if an anti-Christian sentiment lurks behind the thefts. Attorney Mike Johnson of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, stated, "I suspect most of it is childish pranks. Clearly, there are adults with an agenda to remove Christ from Christmas. But they tend to occupy themselves with the courts and courtroom of public opinion."[2] Stephen Nissenbaum, the author of The Battle for Christmas and a retired professor, views Baby Jesus theft as neither innocent vandalism nor religious hate crimes.
"What it means is that it's OK to go around violating even pretty important norms, as long as real human harm isn't being done. It's not exactly devaluing Christianity, but it is sort of a ritualized challenge to it. It could be Christian kids doing it—and on January 2 they become good Christians again."[2]
In "The Big Little Jesus," the December 24, 1953 episode of the television series Dragnet, Sgts. Friday and Smith are called upon to investigate the theft of a Baby Jesus from a church nativity display on Christmas Eve. Unable to solve the crime, the officers tell the priest that Mass must be celebrated without the Baby Jesus. The figurine is restored when a boy arrives with it in a wagon. He tells the officers that he had vowed that if he got a wagon for Christmas, Baby Jesus would have the first ride.[6] This episode was remade when Dragnet went to color; it is not only the only episode made twice, but the only story not based on an actual police case. The episode was originally broadcast on radio on December 22, 1953, making it the only episode to appear on all three Jack Webb versions of the series.