http://museum-security.org/
securma@xs4all.nl
SITE MAP
datum
CONTENTS:
- management of security in general and security schedules (Anonymous)
- Pollock Art Vandal in Rome Hospital
- RE: (Fwd) I need hard facts!!! (Ron Simoncini)
- [Fire Safe Heritage]: Church Fire in Brazil
- London Holocaust Conference (Thomas Flynn)
- RE: (Fwd) I need hard facts!!! (Gary Yee)
- problems with Medeco InSite Key System
- Innovative Programs to Enhance the Image of Your Security Department (Herb Lottier)
- RE: (Fwd) I need hard facts!!! (Jim Holley)
- Cambodian temples stripped of treasures
- Rembrandt Stolen From Danish Museum (Guard knocked down)
- Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of African artifacts are missing from the Buffalo Museum of Science
- Provo Cops Look For Art Thieves
Management of security in general and security schedules
++++++++++++++++++++
Name of this subscriber is known to me. We have agreed that I forward this message anonymously to the list.
Ton Cremers
++++++++++++++++++++
Hi Ton, Please use your discretion when it comes to what parts are forwarded to the list if any. I am here writing a response to your reply.
First of all I would like to thank you for responding. Lets take our situation the way it is now. I work in a mid-sized museum, 13 1/2 acre campus, with 5 other independant buildings and parking lots which hold close to only 280 cars. The museum is located in a fairly good sized city (nothing compared to New York City or even London). The museum is not a rich museum, it relys mostly on private contributions and government assistance. Even when you take into account the size of the property, not to mention the enormous size of the collections we hold, we only are able to operate on a skeleton crew of only 6 officers. No, we do not have 24 hour coverage...a total of 6 hours is covered by an alarm centers central station. We always have 4 people on each day because of the time off others take during the middle of the week as thier off days. This obviously means that for each shift we have two officers. Those officers who are off may also be called in to cover any shift which needs additional help. Our schedule changes (sometimes) 3 to 4 times each week lots of times with only a days notice. We all have been in security long enough to know that everyones schedule changes from time to time. Thats expected with sickness, vacation time and events. But what do you call it when someone constantly over looks what is happening from day to day in order to schedule the appropriate officers? Incompetance? This is one of the problems we face and have put up with for 4 years and some of us have put up with it for much longer than that. Even some of our officers have been able to put together schedules that would cover any given week with appropriate coverage. It happened to be a project which I had given them with the appropriate schedules for the week. I'll tell ya that one of the replys I got, in reference to priorities and distractions, hit the nail on the head.
Distractions from Steve Layne:
1. Bull-headed management. When institutional management refuses to let security utilize it's expertise, or when security management is unwilling to advance out of the stone age.
2. Budget. No funds to properly pay and retain good people, or to maintain or upgrade equipment.
3. Poor staff relationships. I have found so many occasions where the security manager has been told to stay away from one department or another, such as letting curatorial staff "do their thing" without being impeded by package inspections or art movement passes. This condition is usually recognized when you find the security manager tucked away in a remote corner of a dingy basement office, without the benefit of contact with other staff, unless at a scheduled meeting.
These are definitely three of our biggest problems. These aren't just distractions, these are how we operate on a daily basis at the discretion of our supervisors. I try to tell them that this is not appropriate and isn't working. I could see if we had a full security management system with the ability to monitor much of what we have. But we don't!!! We fully rely on what each officer sees, we don't have CCTV, no alarms are active during the times in which there is physical security coverage. You will love this one!!!! Our main focus, as it has been specifically noted, that our main concern is the GROUNDS!!!!!! So now what? They don't even want us in the buildings. Well guess where the incidents happen? Most often we don't know they have happened for minutes, hours sometimes days before anyone notices something may be gone. Here's the quote I liked most, "Security here may not be what you think it should be but this is the way we have it set up." OK I accept that seeing how that is what the management has set up. BUT, management has made it clear on several occassions that they don't know what is really needed as far as securiy coverage or what we are to do. See the way people think here is, those that work under a supervisor have less knowledge and don't know what needs to be done, on the other hand, what the supervisor says is GOLD!!! No one will look at the big picture because they don't want to step on anyone elses toes. If you were to look back on years past and divide the year by what things have happened you will clearly see beyond a shaddow of a doubt that what we do doesn''t work. So what, everyone has a job!! Big deal. When you know you are doing a job insufficiently there is no satisfaction. When you have brought up and made clear what the problems are and you get told that you have no Idea what you are talking about, what kind of a job are you talking about? Hey, we have even been told that the current (security) staff we have now is the best there has ever been!!!! Let me tell ya we could be a whole lot better. I have never disagreed with the concept: Security is hired to secure and protect what the management deems necessary. This is a part of the business. But, when you say, We hold in trust for the community, (meaning our collections) and they are walking out the door. Mostly due to the fact that security happens to be directing traffic. Then something is definitely wrong and should be corrected. For the most part I know I sound frustrated. This has gone on for years and I believe its time to stand up to the plate, take a few swings and see what happens. All of us here know it CAN'T hurt.
Thank you,
JD
Pollock Art Vandal in Rome Hospital
ROME (AP) -One of Italy's most persistent art vandals was transferred from a jail cell to a psychiatric hospital Wednesday, a day after he scribbled on a Jackson Pollock painting. Piero Cannata attacked Pollock's 1947 ``Watery Paths'' at Rome's National Gallery of Modern Art with a gray marker. Museum officials said the damage was minor. At a hearing Wednesday, Cannata said he planned to vandalize a painting by Italian abstract artist Piero Manzoni. ``I didn't find one of his, but I found an equally ugly one and damaged it instead,'' he said. Cannata, 52, is a well known art vandal. In 1991, he broke off a toe on the left foot of Michelangelo's famed statue of David in Florence. Two years later, he used a marker to deface a fresco by Renaissance master Filippo Lippi in Prato's cathedral. He spent time in mental hospitals after both incidents. ``Watery Paths'' is a classic example of Pollock's famed ``action painting'' technique.
From: "Simoncini, Ron" Ron_Simoncini@moma.org
To: "'securma@xs4all.nl'" securma@xs4all.nl Subject: RE: (Fwd) I need hard facts!!!
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 09:40:13 -0500
We have a set schedule that is augmented when exhibition needs change. We never change the permanent schedule but add with outside agency staff, we do bring in scheduled staff early or keep them late based on special events, openings VIP hours etc. etc etc, I think it would depend on the number of posts you have per shift. My day shift has 60 a day so changing would be an administrative nightmare. Hope this helps Ron Simoncini 212 708 9462 Museum of Modern Art
From: "J. Andrew Wilson" awilson@oems.si.edu
Subject: [Fire Safe Heritage]: Church Fire in Brazil
Here is some more information on the Brazilian church fire, passed to me through the conservation list:
This past Wednesday, January 20, a terrible fire totally destroyed the interior - the lateral altars and all the cover - of the "Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo"-Church of Our Lady of Carmen, in Mariana, Gerais Mines, Brazil. The church was in its final phase of restoration, and the use of flammables could have been the cause of it loss.
We ask all members of Conserva-Lista to access the Internet site http://coremans.eba.ufmg.br/emergencias which directly shows Internet photographic documentation of the fire, data for contacts, donations, and also to an email address where we hoped that all send their expression of the importance of the investment in preventive conservation.
Thank you very much.
Kindly,
Prof. Luiz A C Souza - conserv@dedalus.lcc.ufmg.br
Moderador - Conserva-Lista
This follows a note published in the newspaper "The State of S. Paulo " on the tragedy that occured in Mariana yesterday, 20 Jan. 1999. The Church of the Carmen de Mariana was last restored 8 September 1939 by ì IPHAN - Institute of National the Historical and Artistic Patrimony - Brazil. It is noticed: 1. The official note speaks of an "accident " and predicts that the investigation is not yet concluded. 2. The news quotation does not mention any clear responsibilities which will be followed up. 3. Nothing is known at the moment if the art and decorations inside the church was accidentally set on fire. One hopes that they have been photographed. 4. In the case of the church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Beryl MG (renovated 13 September 1974 by IPHAN recently demolished and people missing its good artistry, nothing legally was taken. Those responsible continue to go unpunished. We wait to see what the respective investigativion leads to or ties this to.
Fire destroys church in Mines
EVALDO MAGALH*ES, Belo Horizonte
A fire destroyed the Church of Our Lady of the Carmen, located in the central square of Mariana, about 110 kilometers Belo Horizonte.
The church, constructed in 1784 and restored by the Institute for Historical Patrimony, was being restored since the past year, under sponsorship of the Company Valley of the River Candy (CVRD).
According to the Fire Service, the fire started 16 hours beforehand. The most likely hypothesis of its origin is an electrical short circuit. The fire quickly spread with the great amount of chemical products used for the restoration of paintings and sacred objects.
Although the church was opened to the public visitation, no one was hurt.
Until night, the firemen worked at cooling the walls. The fire totally destroyed the central part, the roof and two towers of the church. A full survey of its contents was only released today. It stated that the biggest loss was a painting of 18th Century attributed to the master Manoel of Costa AthaÑde.
Governor Itamar Franco published an official note lamenting the ** tragic accident ** downplaying the importance of its *protected cultural patrimony *.
Source: http://www.estado.com.br//edicao/pano/99/01/20/cid540.html
From: "thomas flynn" drtomflynn@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: London Holocaust Conference
What follows is an abridged version of the report on the London Holocaust Art Conference published in the forthcoming February edition of The Art Newspaper.
Recovery of Stolen and Looted Works of Art - A Seminar at the ISVA, December 1998
Art objects, including antiquities, should be thought of as guilty until proved innocent.² This provocative proposition, from Peter Watson of the MacDonald Institute of Archaeological Research, provided a polemical opening note to a seminar on the Recovery of Stolen and Looted Works of Art organised by the Institute of Art and Law in London in early December. Such a notion was bound to ruffle feathers at a time when trade activities are increasingly becoming subject to the rigours of due diligence and when many art world professionals are beginning to think the unthinkable - that the open dealing in antiquities might ultimately have to cease altogether due to the onerous task of establishing good title. Hence Mr. Watson1s phrase offered a prickly point of departure for a seminar which aimed to address three issues: the scope of the problem; the reponse of the law; and practical solutions. The point of this London seminar was to keep lawyers, barristers, art professionals and other interested parties abreast of current wisdom on the Byzantine legal implications of the movement and appropriation of cultural property. A comprehensive panel of speakers ensured that the legal fraternity, the art trade, private collectors, the law enforcement authorities and the museum and insurance communities were all represented. Such a rich mix of interests inevitably gave rise to a certain amount of courteous cut and thrust as those present attempted to reconcile historically vested interests with the growing imperatives to combat a burgeoning illicit trade. Peter Watson1s illustrated account of his recent trip to the ancient temples of Guatemala, which included chilling images of the aftermath of a murder committed by bandits at the site he was visiting, brought home the grim realities behind the antiquities trade. Conference Chair, Professor Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, set out to draw a distinction between looted antiquities and stolen works of art, the nuances of which required reiterating at intervals throughout the day as delegates grappled with the specific legal instruments applying to each category. There followed an eye-opening first-hand account of the now celebrated case history of the Icklingham bronzes - antiquities looted from the Scheduled Ancient Monument Site owned by Icklingham (UK) landowner John Browning. Mr Browning urged increased vigilance on goods with unchecked provenance and finally called for the UK adoption of the Unidroit Convention. Ruth Redmond-Cooper, Director of the Institute of Art and Law, offered a cogent summary of the nemo dat quod non habet jurisdiction applying in England and the US (in which a person who does not himself possess good title to a chattel cannot give good title to a person to whom he purports to sell). Ms Redmond-Cooper reminded delegates of the need to apprise themselves of the various international exceptions to nemo dat, urging a better knowledge and understanding of those countries in which title does pass to a Good Faith buyer. She cautioned that obligation to check rests not merely on the trade but also on collectors. Art underwriting specialist Robert Read of Hiscox plc addressed delegates on Hiscox1s response to recent developments in the US, outlining his company1s Defective Title insurance. The policy covers both the 3potentially horrendous² defence and claimant1s costs in the event of a claim arising out of disputed title, and the agreed value of an insured work of art if good title has not been established by the insured once the legal process has run its course and the insured is obliged to return the work of art. Following an account of the work of The Art Loss Register from director James Emson, Jonathan Kelly of Simmons and Simmons focused on the legal peculiarities pertaining to disputes over Holocaust art, and pointed out that Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) - involving independent processes of consensual mediation, conciliation and neutral evaluations of the specific circumstances - was fast emerging as the optimum means of resolving what are often deeply polarised disputes. Andrew Burnett of the British Museum, responded on behalf of the museum community to recent developments in the recovery of stolen art, stressing the importance of approaching each individual case on its own merits. The BM1s policy lays the moral duty and executive onus on each individual curator to scrutinise the evidence available in the establishment of good faith without hiding behind codes of practice. Things livened up markedly on the arrival of James Ede, Chairman of the IADAA, who took issue with Peter Watson1s notion of Oguilty objects1, arguing that works of art ought to be treated in the same way as people. He also objected to the suggestion that antiquities acquired after 1970 should be assumed to have been looted, asking why it was that such rigorous scrutiny was confined to antiquities and not applied to the art market in general. He went on to describe the Unidroit convention as a 3sow1s ear made from a silk purse² and warned that legitimate dealers are 3getting fed up with the increasing regulation and bureaucracy with which they have to contend.² He concluded by emphasising that his colleagues in the antiquities trade 3are all keen to help curtail the trade in stolen art². Finally, Professor Norman Palmer of University College London provided a lively summary of certain key aspects of Unidroit and the 1993 EU Directive on the Return of Cultural Objects. He demonstrated that Unidroit does not necessarily guarantee a straightforward resolution of disputes over unlawfully-removed cultural objects and he cautioned that although the Unidroit Convention had not yet been enacted in the UK, it nevertheless affected those operating in this country. If one message emerged from this seminar, it was the increasing need for the international art community, the trade, museum curators and collectors, to keep abreast of these often thorny legal developments and, above all, to make their specialist voices heard in the corridors of power.
From: Gary Yee gyee@famsf.org
Subject: RE: (Fwd) I need hard facts!!!
I can't imagine an institution with posted public hours not having a set schedule for its security force. If any group must be reliable, it must be security. Otherwise, how does one open their doors to the public if the galleries are unguarded? Granted, a few selected guards may have flex time which may better serve the institution, but the vast majority should be on fixed schedule. Besides my museums, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, California Academy of Sciences are all on some form of fixed schedule.
Gary Yee
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Museum-L From: Karen Wilson kwilson@BABYLON-ORINST.UCHICAGO.EDU
Subject: Medeco InSite Key System
In the fall of 1997, the University of Chicago installed a Medeco InSite key system in our museum as part of a $10.1 million renovation and expansion project. The system has given us endless serious problems since that time, and we are beginning to wonder whether the University should continue to install this system (so far we are the only "working" installed system on campus). I would appreciate hearing from any list members who have had experience with this key system. If you respond to me off-list, I will summarize for the list.
(For those wondering, the Medeco InSite system is an electronic access system that uses electronic door hinges and locks, computer-programmed keys, and key readers to let individuals through doors and to record their movements on a centralized computer. In essence, it is a system which uses programmable keys to perform the functions that cards perform in many other security/access systems.)
Karen L. Wilson
Oriental Institute Museum Director
1155 East 58th St.
Chicago IL 60637
k_wilson@uchicago.edu
To: Museum Security Network
Fm: Herb Lottier
Manager Protection Services Philadelphia Museum of Art
I am in the process of writing a presentation for an upcoming security conference, quite possibly the AAM year 2000. The working title is
"Innovative Programs to Enhance the Image of Your Security Department."
A secondary motivation is to satisfy a course requirement for a Master's Degree in Professional Communication. I believe that security is much more than installing a few locks and deploying a few guards. I also believe that each security Director worth their salt has developed at least one program that may not necessarily be security related but which enhances his or her departmental value to the organization. I wish to gather as many of these initiatives as possible and select the very best for a presentation, and perhaps publication, so that many can profit from the efforts of a few. In order to give you a flavor of what I am looking for, I relate a few cost-effective programs I have instituted at the Philadelphia Museum of Art:
· Escort service - In the Fall and Winter when darkness arrives a little earlier in the day, a number of our Staff employees feel uncomfortable walking to their cars. By simply calling or stopping by the security console, an officer will, without delay, escort the employee to their vehicle. · The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located in center-city Philadelphia. The City sponsors large-scale special events, primarily on weekends, that impact upon access to the museum. Each Wednesday, Protection Services, after consultation with the outside coordinating authority, issues a weekly informational bulletin that provides answers to access before the question is asked. We erect directional signage to announce alternative routes to the museum. We also provide an appropriate security tip of the week at the end of each bulletin.
· Philadelphia Police Officers and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agents have addressed Staff assemblies on topics, such as, how to avoid becoming a victim of a scam, handling explosive devices, and international art theft and our collective response to a theft. Philadelphia Police attend art handling sessions at the museum in the event that service is ever required.
I ask you to share your experiences with me so that we can benefit our fellow security managers. In return, I promise any contributor a copy of my final presentation. You may elect to institute some or all of the programs as I intend to do. This is an opportunity to enhance the value of your security department (and you personally) to your institution and it doesn't cost you a thing. You might even make a friend!
Kindly call me at 215-725-9493, e-mail hlottier@philamuseum.org, or write to
Herb Lottier, CPP
Manager Protection Services
Philadelphia Museum of Art
26th & Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19101-7646
From: Jim Holley Jim.Holley@wadsworthatheneum.org
Subject:
We here do have a set schedule. I can not imagine doing it any other way. Those of us in the "Exempt" world often work over yes and even sometimes under our scheduled times but i believe we all follow a base schedule. It is a necessity to know who and when some one is in the building. And it is also necessary to let workers know when they are working and at what times they are working. We actually use two schedules to seperate daily operations from special events.
As you have stated changes are made for sickness and vacation but a set schedule seems well ...just S.O.P.
James Holley
Wadsworth Atheneum
(Daily Telegraph London) Cambodian temples stripped of treasures
By Alex Spillius in Siem Reap
CAMBODIA is trying to prevent thieves stripping its ancient temples and palaces of their remaining statues and carvings for sale in the West after thousands of pieces were stolen in recent months. Conservationists had hoped that the end of Cambodia's 30-year war would see a decline in the illicit and hugely profitable trade. The Khmer Rouge guerrillas, who have now laid down their arms and whose north-western territory covered many of the sites, were among the worst pillagers. But peace has merely allowed former rebels to team up with unscrupulous army officers to continue the theft on a huge scale. Villagers who witnessed the mass looting of the remote 12th century Banteay Chmar temple said several hundred soldiers worked for four weeks in November and December under the supervision of officers using heavy machinery, including road drills, to remove 50 square yards of intricate stone bas reliefs of ancient Buddhist epics. So much was taken that the central building of the temple complex, spread over eight square miles, has almost collapsed. Two weeks ago border police in Thailand seized 117 pieces smuggled from the temple. The temple is considered by archaeologists to be one of the glories of the Khmer, or Cambodian, empire, with its capital at Angkor, which reached its zenith in the 12th century. The seized artefacts are only a small part of what was stolen. Vong Von, director of the government's Angkor conservation, said: "Looting is still continuing in many places. It is being carried out by Cambodians and the smugglers have some very strong support beside them, perhaps even commanders. "It is very, very sad that Cambodian people were so masterful and skilful but now plunder their own history." King Norodom Sihanouk last week demanded that the prime minister put a stop to the trade. The Arts Ministry immediately set up a task force, but with limited resources to guard far-flung sites and a corrupt military to contend with, its chances of success are slim. The 500 police on duty at temples close to the tourist showpiece, Angkor Wat, are still unable to prevent looting. "We control one area and move guards there, then another is looted," said Mr Vong. The stolen artefacts end up in the drawing rooms of London, Paris or Frankfurt. Cambodians are unable to resist the £200 to £800 they receive for each item from Thai agents at the border, only an hour's drive away from the remotest monuments.
Rembrandt Stolen From Danish Museum
By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press Writer
HOERSHOLM, Denmark (AP) - Robbers unhooked two paintings, including one by Rembrandt, and knocked down a lone guard Friday before making off with their haul from a small museum north of Denmark's capital. The paintings were not protected by movement sensors, surveillance videos or alarms, said Ebbe Simonsen of the Nivaagaard Collection in Hoersholm, 15 miles north of Copenhagen. Simonsen said both an insurance company and the state museum supervision board had approved the security. It has been speculated that the Rembrandt could be worth up to $16 million, however, Simonsen declined to comment on this. Two men in their 40s bought tickets and walked into the museum Friday afternoon. When the guard who had sold the tickets heard a noise from the exhibition area, he ran in. ``He saw one of the men with a Rembrandt in his hands,'' Deputy Criminal Inspector John Stuer Lauridsen said. ``Portrait of a Lady'' by Rembrandt, dating from 1632, is one of the key paintings of the Nivaagaard Collection, which focuses on Dutch and Italian art of the 16th and 17th centuries. The other man had unhooked ``The Portrait of a Young Man'' by Giovanni Bellini from another room. The guard twice tried to stop them but was knocked down both times. He was not injured. The other employee present at the time of the robbery was photocopying in a different area of the museum and didn't hear anything, police said. The men fled in a stolen car, which later was found. Controls at airports and border crossings were increased immediately after, Stuer Lauridsen told reporters. No one has been arrested.
The museum has about 15,000 visitors each year.
Yahoo News
Anybody on the list who has additional information on the following...
Artifacts Missing -
(BUFFALO) --
Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of African artifacts are missing from the Buffalo Museum of Science. Officials say five ivory tusks... a wood-carved stool and mask have been stolen from a storage facility during the past month. Nothing else is reported missing.
Yahoo News
Anybody on the list who has additional information on the following...
Provo Cops Look For Art Thieves -
(PROVO) --
Provo police are looking for whoever stole about 37-thousand-dollars worth of sculpture from a Provo art museum. The sculptures are all works by local artists. Police say some of the pieces are up to three-feet tall... and will be hard to sell on the black market. They also say it may have taken several people to cart off the sculptures.
Main Indexpage
