A new study by researchers at University of Portsmouth, published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology, has revealed that older burglars (over 21 years) are more efficient and successful at searching for valuable items than their younger colleagues (under 21 years). A total of 68 convicted burglars participated in the research, with 36 younger burglars and 32 older burglars taking part in the virtual burglary simulation. All participants were serving sentences in adult prisons or Young Offender Institutions in the UK. This study is expected to contribute to evidence-based approaches to reducing criminal activity and promoting societal safety. Here’s a list of some of the most well-known thieves across the world.
By Shubhangi Shah
Doris Payne
Doris Payne is an American convicted jewel thief. Her crimes have spanned six decades. She has been arrested many times. Payne is noted for stealing a 10-carat diamond ring, valued at $500,000, from Monte Carlo in the 1970s. She fled to France but was detained in Nice and later extradited back to Monte Carlo, where she was held for nine months before being released, as the Monégasque authorities were unable to locate the stolen gem. In 2013, Payne, then aged 83 years, was arrested for stealing a $22,500 diamond-encrusted ring in Palm Desert, California. In 2015, she was believed to have stolen a $33,000 ring, although this has not been proven. Payne has openly spoken about her crimes and has used at least 20 aliases, at least 10 social security numbers and at least nine dates of birth.
Bill Mason
Bill Mason is an American jewel thief who, in his 2004 autobiography, Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief, avers that he has stolen $35,000,000 in property from private residences and hotel rooms across the US, with targets including high-profile individuals such as Phyllis Diller, Johnny Weissmuller and Armand Hammer. In his autobiography, he explains how he returned the Olympic gold medal he stole from Weissmuller out of guilt. Despite having stolen so many valuable items, he reportedly remained a fugitive for nearly five years. Also, he has only served a few years in prison.
Vincenzo Peruggia Vincenzo Peruggia was an Italian museum worker, artist and thief, most famous for stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre Museum in Paris on August 21, 1911. After stealing the painting and keeping it hidden in a trunk in his apartment in Paris for two years, Peruggia returned to Italy with it. He kept it in his apartment in Florence, Italy for some time. However, Peruggia eventually grew impatient and was finally caught when he contacted Mario Fratelli, the owner of an art gallery in Florence. After its recovery, the painting was exhibited all over Italy with banner headlines rejoicing its return.
The Mona Lisa was then returned to the Louvre in 1913.
Stephane Breitwieser
Stephane Breitweiser is a French art thief and author, notorious for his art thefts between 1995 and 2001. He admitted to stealing 239 artworks and other exhibits from 172 museums while travelling around Europe and working as a waiter, an average of one theft every 15 days. The Guardian called him ‘arguably the world’s most consistent art thief’. He has also been called ‘one of the most prolific and successful art thieves who have ever lived’, and ‘one of the greatest art thieves of all time’. His thefts resulted in the destruction of many works of art, destroyed by his family to conceal evidence of his crimes. He differs from most other art thieves in that most of his thefts initially did not involve profit motive. He was a self-described art connoisseur who stole in order to build a personal collection of stolen works, particularly of 16th and 17th century masters, as per reports.
Colton Harris Moore
Colton Harris Moore is an American former fugitive. He was charged with the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in property, including several small aircraft, boats and multiple cars, all committed while still a teenager. On July 4, 2010, he fled to the Bahamas, allegedly in a plane stolen from Bloomington, Indiana. He was indicted on July 6, 2010, by a US Federal Court in Seattle, Washington, on charges of transporting another stolen aircraft in that state. Moore, still only 19 years, was arrested in Harbour Island, Bahamas, on July 11, 2010, after police shot out the engine of the boat in which he was attempting to flee. On December 16, 2011, Moore was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for dozens of consolidated charges brought against him from three different counties. On January 27, 2012, he was sentenced to six and a half years for related federal crimes.
