Art Theft Investigation

From time to time, the mass media become preoccupied with a sensational case of art theft, and to the general public, it might seem that such crimes are rare and difficult to commit. However, according to data collected by international law enforcement and insurance agencies, losses from art theft amount to billions of dollars annually. Private collections and churches are targeted more often than public museums; 50% of stolen objects are paintings and sculptures. The most frequent mode of art theft is burglary and robbery. It can be considered white collar, blue-collar, or violent crime, planned or spontaneous. The annual percentage of successful art theft recovery is in the low teens, and many investigations extend for years. Art theft investigation shares detective techniques with narcotics cases, including going undercover to penetrate international markets, protecting low-level buyers in order to get to the major dealers, and using informants. [Page 13]However, cases of art theft never allow for the evidence to be destroyed.

Art and antiques theft has a long history but has become epidemic since the mid-20th century, when prices at the public art auctions hit the $1 million mark, drawing the attention of the underworld to exploit this market. Illicit trade in cultural objects is one of the top global crimes fought by police, along with money laundering, drug smuggling, illegal arms trafficking, and terrorism. Recent investigations demonstrate a shift in motivation for art theft. Fewer objects are stolen to satisfy somebody's passion for art; rather, they are increasingly used as a means of extortion, initial collateral for narcotic networks or laundering the profits of crime, a medium of exchange between criminals, or a way to obtain political favors from the government.

With the globalization and openness of borders between countries, the smuggling of cultural objects is easier, but investigating this often invisible crime is more complex. Professional art squads are a rarity in national police forces; art thefts are routinely underreported; and many art objects in private collections as well as cultural institutions are not properly secured, insured, or documented. In addition, the laws of many countries are inadequate in protecting the owners of stolen art. In the past decade, private collectors, museums, art dealers, insurance companies, and law enforcers have collaborated in creating an environment that is less attractive to art thieves and forgers. Since 1990, it has become standard practice to check the Art Loss Register, the largest private computerized database of stolen and missing art from around the world, to verify the legitimacy, or “good title,” of a work before it is acquired, sold, or insured. In 1993, the Getty Information Institute developed the Object ID, which is the international documentation standard for the description of stolen or illegally exported cultural property and art. The standard has been translated into a dozen languages and increases the compatibility of many databases of lost art used by police, customs officials, museums, and insurance companies worldwide. The standard has also helped these agencies to exchange information more seamlessly. New security technologies have emerged for marking art objects for identification, including the use of chemical codes, electronic tagging, bar codes, microphotography, and laser fingerprinting.

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