Failed Armed Robbery in Paris

The BBC has a summary of a failed armed robbery at a safe deposit centre in Paris.  One guard was kill in an explosion when the gang, who were well armed and dressed like police, tried to blow their way into the facility.

The Sydney Morning Herald also has a story.

Art Theft in Forbidden City

Yahoo reports that nine art objects have been stolen from a temporary exhibit in the Forbidden City in Beijing.  Apparently the thief broke through a wall to get at the items.

(The BBC also has an article about the theft.)

Stealing Vegetables

The New York Times has an article about a gang that steals truck loads of produce.  The interesting thing is not what was stolen - a trailer of produce can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars - but the way it was done.  The thieves set up their own trucking company, got the contract to deliver the goods then drove away with it never to be seen again.

via Bruce Schneier

Beware of NYPD license plate readers

The New York Times has an article about the NYPD's license readers and how they have been used to solve a variety of crimes.

Pick Pockects Fade Away

Slate has an article on the declining state of pickpocketing in the US.

Pickpocketing in America was once a proud criminal tradition, rich with drama, celebrated in the culture, singular enough that its practitioners developed a whole lexicon to describe its intricacies. Those days appear to be over. "Pickpocketing is more or less dead in this country," says Harvard economist Edward Glaeser, whose new book Triumph of the City, deals at length with urban crime trends. "I think these skills have been tragically lost."

via Bruce Schneier

Museum Security

In a view from the other side, The Secret History of Art has two posts about improving museum security (part 1 and part 2).