In Praise of Jewel Thieves

"The Louvre, it turns out-at least certain nooks of the ancient former palace-is something like an anopticon: a place where no one is observed. The world now knows what the four thieves (two burglars and two accomplices) realized as recently as last week: The museum's Apollo Gallery, which housed the stolen items, was monitored by a single outdoor camera angled away from its only exterior point of entry, a balcony."

"In other words, a free-roaming Roomba could have provided the world's most famous museum with more information about the interior of this space. There is no surveillance footage of the break-in. The Paris prosecutor's office has suggested that the operation was likely conducted by members of an organized-crime syndicate, though the evidence for this is thin at present. The assumption seems to be that none but a highly experienced criminal architect could have come up with a plan to access an unmonitored second-floor balcony."

Four individuals entered the Louvre on a Sunday morning and stole two tiaras, two brooches, two necklaces, and 1.5 pairs of earrings from the Apollo Gallery. Officials described the theft as a 'terrible failure' and an 'attack,' and voiced national embarrassment. The Apollo Gallery was monitored only by a single outdoor camera aimed away from the balcony that served as the exterior point of entry, leaving no interior surveillance footage of the break-in. Authorities have suggested possible involvement of organized-crime syndicate members, though evidence is limited. The operation's apparent exploitation of basic security gaps exposed severe vulnerabilities in museum protection.

Read at The Atlantic