Protecting valuable museum pieces

In 2008 art thieves stole four paintings from a Zurich museum; the artworks stolen were estimated to be worth 150 million pounds. The museum had security guards, alarms and various other forms of security. Although the paintings stolen will never be able to be sold on the open market, the thieves will still be able to sell them via the black market; the black market does a thriving trade in stolen antiquities and artwork. After the robbery museums were asking if there was anything that could have been done to have stopped this.

GPS tracking technology could be the way for museums to protect their high valued pieces in the future. GPS tracking technology is already being used by businesses and individuals in a various ways ranging from vehicle tracking, pet tracking to child tracking.

How would GPS tracking technology help in tracing stolen items such as artwork or antiquities? The answer is quite simple; a small tracking device could be hidden somewhere within a picture frame or hidden on an antiquity.

If the worse were to happen and a valuable piece was stolen, police would be able to track the stolen item via real-time tracking all over the world if necessary. Other benefits that tracking devices could bring to a museum could be lower insurance premiums, a similar thing that has happened to car owners who have tracking devices fitted in their vehicles.