Word: guards
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...According to one security guard at the Sackler who wished to remain anonymous because the museum has a strict policy against discussing security measures with the media, these stored pieces are well-secured with deadlocks on vaults keeping potential thieves out. This seems wise; Connor, for instance, has stolen much from storage rooms in his lifetime. “One of the rarest items and the most valuable items that I took was a Renoir,” he says. “That was from storage [and] was never reported missing...
...pieces on view in the Sackler, however, may be at greater risk considering they are—to use Connor’s own phrase—accessible to the road. According to the same guard, none of the security staff within the museum, including his own supervisor, is armed, though they have a direct line to the Harvard University Police Department. “If there is a problem that might entail violence we’re supposed to use our radio and say, ‘Hey, let’s get the HUPD over here...
...Security guards may not be chosen for their experience with art or security; another Sackler guard who also wished to remain unnamed because of the Museum’s press policy said they did not have any prior experience in security. The guard mentioned that all the Sackler security guards were given a day’s worth of training specifically focused on the protection of cultural items, but admits, “I kind of forgot what happened in the training.” Manoogian says that in addition to that training session, guards go through multiple other seminars...
...Instead of primary protectors of the art, the officers say they see themselves as guardians of visitors’ safety and sources of edifying information. “We’re sort of glorified ushers,” the first guard says...
...Thus the guards themselves—six for the entire Sackler—act as little more than a deterrent to art heist. Their training includes a little self-defense, but the guards interviewed say they could not stop an armed robbery. “Primarily it’s just being here as a presence to discourage theft,” the first guard says. “If they came in with arms, we would let them take it [the targeted piece] and call the authorities...