BIOP statistics

The BIOP aggregates reports from several sources: owners' complaints, notices from national police forces, declarations from museums and files transmitted by customs. Each work receives a unique record.

The number of records increases every year, because few records are closed: a recovered work remains archived in the database.

Since 2012, about 1,900 alerts have been published (indicative value). Reports are processed within twenty-four hours. The timeframe measures the time elapsed between receipt of a complete file and the decision whether or not to issue an alert.

An incomplete file may extend this timeframe, which explains the Organization's insistence on the quality of photographs and descriptions.

In 2024, 847 works were restituted following procedures involving the Organization. Twenty-three coordinated operations brought together services from several States.

A restitution may concern a single work or a set of several hundred objects seized in a single operation.

An increase in the number of works recorded does not necessarily mean an increase in thefts. It also reflects better reporting, thanks to the training of officials and the dissemination of the tool.

Analysts therefore compare the number of open records with the number of records closed by restitution.

The published statistics are aggregated. No personal data of owners or victims is disclosed, and ongoing investigations remain confidential.

Authorized authorities may obtain detailed extracts from the Protection Directorate, under the cooperation agreements.