A Brief Overview of Fine Art Theft in the United States

• In Event: Innovations in the Study of Cultural Property Crime

Abstract

Few studies examine fine art theft at all and to date, no criminological study on the topic of fine art theft has focused on the issue solely within United States. As a result, the primary knowledge and insight into this type of crime derives from the experiences of various law enforcement personnel. While the latter can prove valuable in some types of analysis, the assumed translation of individual experiences to broader patterns generally lacks evidential support. This paper, based on my dissertation research, seeks to fill this gap of knowledge by providing insight into the patterns for this crime and establishing a basic comparison to other types of theft. Specifically, it seeks to discover patterns of art theft in the United States and the significant characteristics of this crime using descriptive statistics for the analysis. The data is collected from police reports and uses variables shaped by situational crime prevention and routine activities theory.

Author

• Kate Melody Burmon, Northeastern University