Museum Thieves Are Using More Force, Europol Study Finds

Museum thieves are becoming more violent and more direct, according to a new study from Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union.

The report is titled Changing Tactics, Changing Targets: The Evolving Nature of Museum Heists. It says offenders are increasingly choosing confrontational methods over stealth. Thieves are using sledgehammers, axes, crowbars and, in some cases, explosives to break into museums and to smash open display cases.

Staff have not been spared. Europol's report says museum workers have in some cases been threatened with weapons and physically attacked during robberies.

The study points to one of the most widely reported cases. On 19 October 2025, men broke into the Louvre in Paris while it was open to the public. They left with more than US$102 million worth of crown jewels, threatening staff and visitors as they went, ArtNews reported.

Targets are changing too. Thieves are going after precious stones and metals, especially gold, because it can be melted down, cut up, or stripped from its setting and sold with little trace. The report also says many people believe museum security is weaker than the security in jewellery shops, which may make museums appear to be easier targets.

Some of the objects in demand come from China. Europol names Ming Dynasty porcelain jars and vases, and colourful enamels on bronze vases from the Ming and Qing dynasties, as items in high demand. The Ming (1368 to 1644) and Qing (1644 to 1912) were imperial dynasties that ruled China for centuries.

The people carrying out these thefts are often not career museum thieves. According to the report, offenders tend to have a history of other crimes. They also increasingly team up with accomplices they have never worked with before, bringing them together for a single job.

Jean-Yves Goriou, who heads the EU Organized Crime Unit at Europol's European Serious and Organized Crime Centre, said the number of museum robberies has risen sharply since around 2022 or 2023. He described the increase as clear and steep.

For the people who guard galleries, the findings point to physical danger as well as the loss of art and treasure. Every stolen object is also a loss for the public, who may no longer be able to see it on display.