This exploratory study was conducted to examine the extent of art theft in New York City. The study includes secondary analyses of 229 police complaint reports and twelve completed investigative cases of the NYPD's Art and Antique Investigation Unit collected during the period from January 1985 to December 1988, and personal interviews with a randomly selected sample of forty-five art dealers in New York City. Results from the analysis of police data and the survey were compared, leading to the conclusion that contrary to popular belief, the majority of art theft losses are not substantial and that official records greatly underestimate the extent of this crime.
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