Interpol creates new app to combat art, artifact theft

The app grants law enforcement officials and the public access to Interpol's database of stolen works of art and more.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Interpol (photo credit: REUTERS)
Interpol
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Interpol launched a new app that uses cutting-edge image-recognition software to help identify stolen cultural property, reduce trafficking and increase the chances of recovering stolen artifacts.
The app, called ID-Art is free to download and available in the Apple app store as well as the Google or Android play stores.
The app grants law enforcement officials and the public access to Interpol's database of stolen works of art and allows them to create an inventory of private art collections and report at-risk cultural sites.
In the app's pilot phase, two stolen statues were identified in Italy in addition to two stolen paintings identified in Amsterdam.
The creation of the app's inventory, using international standards, allows museums and collectors to provide law enforcement with information in the case of theft that can improve the chance of it being recovered.
ID-Art gives users access to Interpol's Stolen Works of Art database, the only global database with information on stolen and missing art objects certified by police, according to Interpol. Users can search the database by entering search criteria manually or by uploading a photo.
Users can also document cultural and archeological sites and record items at them, giving a basis for reconstruction or evidence if the site is looted.
“In recent years we’ve witnessed the unprecedented ransack by terrorists of the cultural heritage of countries arising from armed  conflict, organized  looting and cultural cleansing,” said Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock.
“This new tool is a significant step forward in enhancing the ability of police officers, cultural heritage professionals and the general public to protect our common heritage."


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