Data for this study were drawn from material on the "boom years" of the art market in the 1980's and continuing through the 1990's. The materials included art magazines, newspaper accounts, and the relatively small amount of scholarship on art crime by art historians and criminologists. In addition to considering the motives of thieves, the book examines the way art theft is socially organized: the types of thefts that are committed, the ways thieves locate art to steal and how they gain access to it, their use of insiders and fronts, and the way they launder stolen art. The relationship between art theft and organized crime, especially drug traffickers, is investigated. Following explanations of art vandalism and vandal behavior, the book concludes with a consideration of policies to curb art crime. Suggestions for improving security for art focus on inhibiting vandalism, securing art against theft, and preventing the looting and smuggling of antiquities. Other topics discussed in the curbing of art crime include the publicizing of art crime; educating the public; ethical acquisitions policies; the regulation of dealers, auction houses, and the insurance industry; and law reform. Suggestions are offered for investigating art theft and impeding the international movement of stolen art. A 308- item bibliography and a subject index