Reducing Museum Losses from Theft

The museum industry faces one of the most daunting security challenges in the world today. In what amounts to every security professional’s worst scenario, museums place some of their most precious possessions out in the open, and then opens their doors to allow the public to view them up close, sometimes even to handle them. Yet this is the charter for museums; not to merely store great works of art and antiquities, but to create collections and allow the world to view, touch and study objects. FocusMicro can provide museums across the nation with the tools and expertise to enhance their security programs and increase their ability to protect and safeguard their collections. FocusMicro Security Consultants can assist a museum’s security organization with developing and enhancing an institution’s security program, including the application of state-of-the-art technology based security solutions.

Keeping our cultural treasures safe from harm has always been a difficult and formidable task, and it appears that it is becoming even more so. Although there are no definitive figures available, there have been estimates that worldwide art theft is currently ranging between 2 and 6 billion dollars per year, depending upon which organization is producing the numbers. The variability and broad range of the estimate has several contributing factors. First is the difficulty in determining just what is defined as ‘art’, followed immediately by the inaccuracies and vagaries in assessing the value of an item. Also at issue is the nature of theft reports themselves: in the United States for instance, most police agencies do not classify a theft of a work of art as such, but simply as property theft.

What is agreed upon is that the theft and subsequent sale of art and antiquities is a significant criminal issue, exceeded only in worldwide profitability by the sales of illegal drugs and weapons. Though the figures are imprecise and incomplete, there is also a consensus among museum professionals that theft incidents are increasing in both frequency and valuation.

Where to Begin?

The world of movies and television depict art thieves as somewhat heroic daredevils, carefully researching the high technology security measures of an institution. The thieves then apply equally high tech countermeasures before lowering themselves from the ceiling in the dead of night, avoiding a maze of laser beams that can only be seen with special goggles.

Museum security professionals know however that most thefts are of the decidedly low tech variety: a visitor hiding behind draperies until the museum is closed; an employee putting an artifact into a briefcase or coat pocket; or a common burglar with limited lock picking skills entering a storage area with no alarm system. These common types of events are foreseeable and preventable, requiring only modest expenditures for FocusMicro access control, intrusion detection and digital surveillance systems combined with highly regimented policies and procedures.

Museum viewing areas, with their constant flow of visitor traffic, are sometimes perceived to have the highest risk and the greatest potential for loss. Yet for most museums, a mere 10% - 20% of their artifacts (or even less) are on display at any given time, while the balance of their collections are in storage. In truth, the storage areas of museums contain the majority of the museums’ collections. And although the more popular and highly valued objects are frequently on permanent display, museums’ storage areas account for the majority of the collections’ valuations as well.

In 21st century museum security strategies, the implementation of technology solutions from companies like FocusMicro has clearly had a positive impact on minimizing theft losses. This application of technology has had an interesting effect on the nature of museum thefts. Those institutions with the lowest levels of protection suffer more thefts from external sources, while those better protected suffer the majority of their thefts from internal sources. The inclusion of technology in a security program is clearly very important, but it is not a catchall solution for mitigating all types of threats.

High tech and low tech threats, public areas and storage areas, external and internal thieves: where should museum security professionals put the emphasis for their security program? The answer, of course, is that a comprehensive security program developed with the aid of FocusMicro, Inc. will address the threats in all areas.

Knowing, Not Guessing

Museums in the United States and throughout the world have a curious widespread inability to be able to conclusively identify their own artifacts. Curators can usually provide good descriptions and photographs of an object as it is viewed by the public, but can rarely provide little more if any information beyond that. It’s these types of details that can make the difference in a positive identification, contributing heavily to the estimate that fewer than 10% of artifacts that are stolen each year are ever returned to their rightful owners.

Another interesting aspect surrounding museums’ operating practices is their frequent lack of inventory controls. Real or suspected missing items are known as ‘Administrative Losses’, a type of oversight that is frequently unreported and usually accounted as a cost of doing business. This type of negligence is unacceptable in most industries, yet most puzzlingly is almost commonplace in museums.

To combat the difficulties with the positive identification of artifacts and antiquities, the Object ID project was initiated by the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1993, resulting in a formal standard that was introduced in 1997. Adopted internationally, the Object ID standard is not meant to replace other identification standards and specifications, but rather to set the minimum requirements for positive object identification.

Frequently referred to as a core standard, Object ID delineates the minimum categories of essential information that are common to a broad range of documentation systems:

Type of Object Materials & Techniques Measurements Maker Object Name Title

Description Inscriptions & Markings Photographs Date or Period Subject

Object ID was developed in a corroborative effort by several communities with vested interests in art and antiquities preservation:

– Cultural heritage organizations (including museums, national inventories, and archaeological organizations)

– Law-enforcement agencies

– Customs agencies

– The art trade

– Appraisers

– The insurance industry.

The standard is designed to be implemented in traditional, non-computerized systems as well as in comprehensive database architectures. For more information about this constantly evolving standard, visit the Object ID website at http://www.object-id.com/.

There are several tactics that are being promoted to halt the flow of Administrative Losses for museums. Most of these measures are common to many industries that have valuable inventories, but have been tailored to the specific needs of museums.

First and foremost, museums should develop and maintain a complete inventory of their artifacts, conducting regular physical inventories based upon the valuation of the items. Those items that are in the top 10% - 15% should be inventoried on a daily basis; those in the next 15% should be counted weekly, the next 25% counted monthly or quarterly and the remainder of the objects should be inventoried annually. Responsibilities for counting objects should be randomly rotated among employees so that no one can predict who will be counting which group of items.

Museums should implement strict access controls to storage areas, including keeping appropriate doors locked, creating sign in and out logs for personnel access and prohibiting storage areas from being used as work areas.

Install and properly configure access controls, intrusion detection and digital video surveillance systems such as those available from FocusMicro, Inc. Cost effective and reliable, these technology based solutions will pay for themselves quickly when employees and visitors understand that no action will go undetected or unrecorded. Insure also that these systems are integrated not only with each other, but with any other existing technology based systems such as RF asset tracking and smoke detection / fire alarms. Integrated systems produce a high level of synergistic data, far outstripping the capabilities of the sum of the individual systems.

Institutions must also become consistent and thorough in the application of personnel policies. Performing candidate criminal and employment background checks, having employees sign-off on code of conduct policies and implementing parcel and baggage checks for all personnel entering and leaving the premises are all solutions to reduce the incidence of Administrative Losses. Most importantly in personnel policies, prohibit anyone from being exempt from any policy due to rank, seniority, VIP status or job function. Consistency is the primary watchword.

Museum Security Programs

Reducing museum losses from external and internal theft, as well as from Administrative sources (i.e., unexplained internal theft) requires a comprehensive security program that is professionally developed, implemented and staffed. One of the pitfalls that museums are prone to is their reliance solely upon their own internal resources for security program development and evaluation. Every museum across the country, both large and small will benefit from use of an outside security consulting firm such as FocusMicro, Inc. when determining or auditing an institution’s security program.

Every museum should have a written security program. This complex document should be an exhaustive detailing of every element, policy and procedure pursuant to the security of the institution. Museums should perform a comprehensive review of this document and its actual implementation and effectiveness on an annual basis, utilizing the resources of an outside security consulting organization such as FocusMicro, Inc. FocusMicro employs seasoned security consultants who can help guide museums in state-of-the-art security strategies and tactics.

Mitigating the threat of external sources of theft requires a comprehensive access control and intrusion detection technology based systems. FocusMicro supplies and installs the most technologically advanced systems in institutions throughout the United States. As existing systems are enhanced or expanded, or as new systems are installed, insuring that all technology based systems are integrated to enable data sharing is essential. An experienced, self-contained consulting firm like FocusMicro will be able to provide the necessary guidance and recommendations for equipment selection to guarantee compatibility and data sharing capabilities. FocusMicro’s self-contained capabilities extend to the installation and maintenance of security solutions as well. FocusMicro can provide complete turnkey security solutions without utilizing subcontractors or other outside resources.

Access control systems should use either digital keypads, personalized identity cards or biometric entrance controls. Intrusion detection systems should be fully programmable, with both automatic and manual based self testing capabilities. The museum proper and its storage areas must be armed with internal magnetic switches for doors and windows that open. There should be glass break sensors installed around all windows as well as near steel and aluminum doors. Infrared motion sensors should provide redundant door and window coverage, and should also cover hallways, entrances, galleries and secure areas.

To reduce the likelihood of internal theft and Administrative Losses, an all-inclusive surveillance system based on digital video technology should be implemented. Replacing any VCR tape based system with a digital video system should be considered a priority. This is a cost effective enhancement that utilizes existing cameras, yet results in a significant increase in image quality and improved video coverage with the elimination of multiplexers and other time-lapse devices. FocusMicro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of Digital Video Servers. FocusMicro Security Consultants can assess a museum’s current surveillance capabilities and make expert recommendations to improve the system. Once installed and integrated with the other security systems, Digital Video technology can be demonstrated to employees, becoming a very effective deterrent to criminal behavior.

A thorough security program will identify luminary work within the museum and establish a secure perimeter for each one. These security perimeters should be monitored by cameras backed by a Digital Video Server with area motion sensing alarms such as those offered by FocusMicro, Inc.. The alarms should be fully configurable for covert or overt announcements depending upon the date, day and time of the alarm.

Every institution should have a security officer presence for the museum and storage areas 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each institution should perform a thorough and highly detailed background check on all security officers. Security organizations should initiate a program of ongoing training for all security personnel, using a combination of internal (if available) and external training organizations. They should also ensure that the security officers conduct regular yet unpredictable patrols of the facilities.

To prevent accidental or deliberate abuse and to minimize losses, museums should implement a thorough and audited key control program. Because keys are such a routine part of our everyday lives, even trained security personnel can become lax in their handling.

Make certain that the institution’s security program exempts no one. Do not permit an employee to become a ‘trusted’ staff member without oversight. Every employee of the company should be subject to checks and verifications.

Establish a relationship with local police authorities. Familiarize them with the basics of your museum’s security measures and ask them to perform a free “crime risk” inspection.

Insure that the security program includes scenarios for likely security breaches and how personnel are to react. Explicitly detail the staff’s responsibilities and expected conduct. Most importantly, practice these scenarios on an repeated, ongoing basis.

An Ounce of Prevention –

All museums, from small rural facilities to large metropolitan institutions can implement nearly all of the measures outlined in this document and minimize their risk of theft and burglary. Adopting Object ID protocols, creating solid inventory controls systems and securing the services of a nationally based, professional security consulting company like FocusMicro are within the means of nearly all organizations.

Implementing the basics of technology solutions such as access and intrusion detection systems and digital video surveillance systems can be done with only a modest investment, installing scalable solutions that can be expanded upon when additional resources become available. Selecting a security contractor is an extremely crucial element of the security evaluation process. The importance utilizing a nationally based security company such as FocusMicro that can not only provide knowledgeable consulting services for state-of-the-art security strategies and technologies, but can also deliver turnkey security solutions as well, cannot be overstated.

The most effective theft and burglary prevention mechanism is awareness. Understanding the means and methods used by criminals and taking steps with a security contractor to bolster an institution’s defenses and operating protocols will remove or mitigate those criminal pathways, enabling museums to protect, while sharing, our culture’s art and antiquities.