Problems assessing the scale of the crime of theft and misappropriation of cultural artifacts Cover Image

Problemy z oceną skali przestępstwa kradzieży i przywłaszczenia dóbr kultury
Problems assessing the scale of the crime of theft and misappropriation of cultural artifacts

Author(s): Jakub Witt
Subject(s): Museology & Heritage Studies, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Criminology
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: relict; cultural artifacts; theft; misappropriation; statistics; crime assessment;

Summary/Abstract: The measurement of thefts of cultural artifacts is presented in this paper. The author analyses the statistics of cultural heritage theft as provided by the administrative organs. In doing so, the author examines the work of the Police, conservators of works of art, and the Polish Ministry of Justice. Inasmuch as the Police computer system was changed in 2013, it is not possible to compare statistics for the entire decade 2005-2015. Both systems use different registration categories for stolen cultural objects. Information from the General Police Headquarters, published in the journal “Valuable, priceless, lost”, gives a general perspective of thefts of cultural property. On the other hand, the national register of stolen or illegally exported cultural goods is an authoritative database, but not every stolen object is registered. In the systems used by public prosecutor’s offices and administrators of justice there is no possibility to separately register cultural property thefts. For all these reasons, the real size and scope of thefts of cultural objects is difficult to determine.

  • Issue Year: 3/2017
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 217-238
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Polish