The Invisible Crime

Exploring How Perceptions of Victimhood and the Art Market May Influence Art Fraud Reporting

Bibliographic Data

ID4283049
AuthorsSara K Mazurek (Candid, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume26
Issue4
Pages413-436
Publication date2019-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Cultural Property (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0940-7391 • E-ISSN: 1465-7317
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s094073911900033x
OpenAlexW2997571555
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited26

Scholars argue for greater law enforcement resources for art fraud and forgery investigations, yet these victims rarely report their victimization. While fraud victims generally report at lower rates than street crimes, statistics show they do come forward. Using Niels Christie's ideal victim theory, this article will argue that art fraud victims occupy a lower position in a hierarchy of victims-where some are more worthy of justice, social support, and public sympathy-than those of other kinds of fraud. This may be due to their perceived personal shortcomings and participation in a market that leaves openings for fraud. Public antipathy toward art fraud victims and the silence of the art community may contribute to what many view as insufficient law enforcement resources for investigations because of the collaborative nature of community policing in many Western countries. Increased reporting and communication with law enforcement could address this problematic cycle

Antipathy · Criminal justice · Criminology · Economic Justice · Enforcement · Hierarchy · Law enforcement · Perception · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Silence · Sociology · Sympathy · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Law · Law in Society and Culture · Psychology · Public Spaces through Art · Social Psychology

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