What is time crime?
Time crime refers to a number of criminal offenses relating to thefts of and vandalism to Virginia’s historic resources. Historic resources include buried, archaeological sites, as well as monuments, gravestones, or battlefield markers. Unfortunately, many people vandalize these sites because they are convenient targets, or steal artifacts or relics to add to personal collections, or for commercial transportation and sale.

For more information on time crime, check out “Time Crime: Protecting the Past for Future Generations,” by Robert Hicks. This article was published in the July, 1997 FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.

What service does DCJS offer related to time crime?
The Crime Prevention and Law Enforcement Services Section will provide training on request, suitable for either in-service purposes or tailored to fit a specific problem or interest. Usually, the training takes four hours and involves two co-instructors, one from DCJS, the other a professional archaeologist from the region in which the training is being held. The class identifies the criminal problems of theft and vandalism in Virginia and shows their impact, discusses relevant state and federal laws, outlines how archaeologists assist in criminal investigations, and reviews several case studies of actual investigations. Also, an eight-hour version of the training is available in which a half-day practical field exercise is included. The field exercise involves the detection of a theft-in-progress, the questioning and arrest of the suspect, and the subsequent search and processing of the crime scene. The object of the training is to enlarge an officer’s investigative tool kit.

In addition to training, the Crime Prevention and Law Enforcement Services Section and a professional, volunteer archaeologist can confer with a locality about a specific theft or vandalism problem and suggest how to handle it. Most consultations are conducted jointly with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.