The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth is getting serious about a crime committed in a Halifax cemetery last month.

On Dec. 7, at least 45 headstones in the historic Holy Cross Cemetery in south-end Halifax were damaged by vandals. Some of the headstones could not be repaired.

The archdiocese is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

"The issue of respect for the families of loved ones who have family members buried there is kind of what is driving our response," said Cathy Driscoll-Cainen, the co-ordinator of Catholic cemeteries in Halifax for the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth.

"The measure of upset that it caused for so many people, we had a lot of phone calls from concerned family members so we thought if this could help in finding out who did the damage, then we would make that an option."

Driscoll-Cainen said the archdiocese notified police they were putting up the reward. There are also plans to add more lighting and put in additional fencing at the cemetery.

Halifax Regional Police say the case is still being investigated.

Most of the people buried in the cemetery are Irish Catholics and many of the headstones date back to the 19th century.