Public Art Theft: Dulwich Park

The AFP reported that on Monday night a bronze sculpture titled "Two Forms (Divided Circle)" by Barbara Hepworth was stolen from its plinth in Dulwich Park, London (its remains are pictured at right). A £1,000 reward has been posted for the sculpture, which was insured for £500,000. Traditionally, the reward for the recovery of a metallic sculpture will be equal to or slightly greater than its scrap value in order to dissuade the thieves from selling it to a scrap dealer, where it would be destroyed. In this case the reward has been posted along with the stipulation "for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thieves." Why would the Southwark Council incorporate the phrase in its advertisement? Certainly, it will deter some individuals from coming forward with information. While a reward advertised without stipulations may motivate future offenses by criminals, it can be more effective at generating new leads to pursue. 

In the past I have written extensively about the threat of public metallic art thefts and possible methods to prevent them (refer to here). This incident provides further evidence for why lawmakers must pass the Metal Theft (Prevention) Bill 2010-2011, which will have its second reading in the House of Commons on January 20, 2012. The Bill, which I discuss here, would require that financial transactions in trade in scrap metals be restricted to cashless payments; give police officers powers to search properties owned by scrap metal dealerships; create a licensing scheme for scrap dealers; enable magistrates' courts to add restrictions to licenses to deal in scrap metals; provide that scrap metal proven to have been obtained through theft may be classified as criminal assets; and introduce criminal charges for theft of scrap metal which take into account aspects of the crime other than the value of the scrap metal stolen. 

If the Bill was already in place, then the individuals who stole the Hepworth sculpture would have few available options to capitalize on this egregious art theft. Accordingly, there would have been little incentive to steal it in the first place!