Introduction

Criminologists and sociologists are poorly represented in academic discourse on art and heritage crimes. Within criminology and sociology, art crime is considered an ultra-niche topic, a subject of focus for few, of passing interest for some, and usually relegated without much elaboration to some broader categorisation of crime: white collar crime, organised crime, etc. It does not exist as a delineated space of contemplation and research. With this volume, we seek to encourage not only an increased focus on art crime within criminology and sociology, but also to promote the utility of criminological and sociological frameworks and tools for art crime research. In developing the concept of this volume, we sought contributions which moved decidedly beyond case studies, towards methodological or theoretical advancement. We called for chapters that pushed boundaries, considered new questions, and reframed existing understandings of ‘art crimes’. Using criminology and sociology as unifying themes, we selected chapters that focused on elaboration, not description; experimentation, not reporting.