The conference, which was held at the British Museum, was organised by specialist art insurer Axa-Art to address the critical issue of theft from museums, libraries, galleries and private collections.
Ton Cremers, the director of the online Museum Security Network, outlined how many museum and library thefts were committed by insiders who abuse years of accumulated trust and privileged access to collections.
Cremers listed examples in the US, France, the Netherlands and the UK, and pointed out that insider theft is often not included as part of risk assessment. He cited the case of Alexander Polman, a curator at the Delft Army Museum, who stole more than 2,000 prints, hundreds of books and a number of paintings over a period of seven years.
It was suggested that CCTV should be used to guard against insider and external thefts. Mike Ferguson, the deputy director of operations at the Art Gallery of Ontario, gave the example of the theft and recovery of the David Le Marchand ivories from the Thomson Collection, but warned that there were privacy issues relating to CCTV camera surveillance. He said museums needed to look at how CCTV could be used without intruding on the visitor experience.
The installation of CCTV surveillance also raises the question of whether museums should ask visitors to remove clothing such as baseball caps that obscure identity.
Sandy Nairne, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, said museums needed to ask: 'Who is looking at whom and why?' He stressed that a balance had to be struck between security and the increased need for outreach, access and inter-gallery collaboration.
He called for a more welcoming gallery environment in which employees could be encouraged to greet and engage with visitors. He also described how simply making eye contact, which is done in clothing stores, helps the public feel more relaxed.
These types of measures could 'personalise' the museum environment and help to counteract the sense of the museum as a faceless institution vulnerable to theft.
A week after the conference, a BBC documentary - Undercover Art Theft - alleged that the Tate had paid £3m to 'buy back' two Turner oil paintings from the Balkan mafia, stolen while on loan to Frankfurt's Schirn Kunsthalle in 1994.
But the Tate insisted that the money had been paid purely for 'information' and to further the investigation.
Tom Flynn
Ton Cremers, the director of the online Museum Security Network, outlined how many museum and library thefts were committed by insiders who abuse years of accumulated trust and privileged access to collections.
Cremers listed examples in the US, France, the Netherlands and the UK, and pointed out that insider theft is often not included as part of risk assessment. He cited the case of Alexander Polman, a curator at the Delft Army Museum, who stole more than 2,000 prints, hundreds of books and a number of paintings over a period of seven years.
It was suggested that CCTV should be used to guard against insider and external thefts. Mike Ferguson, the deputy director of operations at the Art Gallery of Ontario, gave the example of the theft and recovery of the David Le Marchand ivories from the Thomson Collection, but warned that there were privacy issues relating to CCTV camera surveillance. He said museums needed to look at how CCTV could be used without intruding on the visitor experience.
The installation of CCTV surveillance also raises the question of whether museums should ask visitors to remove clothing such as baseball caps that obscure identity.
Sandy Nairne, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, said museums needed to ask: 'Who is looking at whom and why?' He stressed that a balance had to be struck between security and the increased need for outreach, access and inter-gallery collaboration.
He called for a more welcoming gallery environment in which employees could be encouraged to greet and engage with visitors. He also described how simply making eye contact, which is done in clothing stores, helps the public feel more relaxed.
These types of measures could 'personalise' the museum environment and help to counteract the sense of the museum as a faceless institution vulnerable to theft.
A week after the conference, a BBC documentary - Undercover Art Theft - alleged that the Tate had paid £3m to 'buy back' two Turner oil paintings from the Balkan mafia, stolen while on loan to Frankfurt's Schirn Kunsthalle in 1994.
But the Tate insisted that the money had been paid purely for 'information' and to further the investigation.
Tom Flynn
