Criminal Investigation of Art Crime in the Republic of Slovenia

Abstract

Due to the specific nature of art crime, the investigation of such crime is a lengthy process requiring the cooperation of various institutions, both at national and international levels. The present paper contains an in-depth presentation of art crime investigation in Slovenia, which is supported by one of the first studies examining the investigation of art crime in Slovenia. The review of the literature, legal instruments, available cases and other written sources were examined by applying the content analysis method, which served as a foundation for the development of the basic theoretical premises. The art crime phenomenon was analysed by applying a descriptive method; using statistical data, interviews with representatives of the Police, Financial Administration, Prosecution Service, the Ministry of Culture and a court expert and by conducting a qualitative analysis of prosecutor service's case files, by establishing findings and conclusions, and pairing them with the relevant expert opinions. Findings related to the broader issue of art crime and criminal investigations were formed on the basis of examined literature and expert opinions. Results of the empirical research study show that there are, on average, 100 cases of art crime in Slovenia every year. These mainly include theft of works of art from religious and secular-sacral buildings, the number of which could be reduced through preventive measures and increased awareness-raising regarding the value of such art for the nation's history. Perpetrators of art crime are predominantly men with no previous criminal convictions, who commit such criminal offences simply because an opportunity arises or due to economic motives. The rate of investigated criminal offences amounts to 23.6% and is slightly higher in comparison with data from other countries. Slovene courts deal with a very limited number of art crimes, and when criminal proceedings are initiated, however, final judgements and convictions of art crime perpetrators are extremely rare. Cooperation between experts in the field of art and investigators is well organised, fast and efficient. Findings from the theoretical analysis and empirical research demonstrate that the state-of-play in Slovenia in the field art crime is not alarming. However, it would make sense to re-establish an inter-ministerial working group, which would assist investigators and art experts to investigate and prevent such crime in the future.