South Yorkshire Police are to enter a crime scene to this year’s Turner Prize.
After the BBC’s coverage of its raid of Cliff Richard’s home was shortlisted for a Royal Television Society award, South Yorkshire Police decided to submit the scene of a recent violent burglary to the prestigious awards.
However the decision is already attracting controversy in the art world. A number of prominent artists and critics have accused the police of trying to pass off somebody else’s work as their own.
“It is true that the initial crime is not believed to have been committed by serving members of a South Yorkshire Police, however, it was our officers that added the ‘police line do not cross’ tape and most of the muddy footprints,” a spokesperson for the force said. “We would be open to sharing credit for the artwork with the original criminal/artist. However, despite nearly nine months of investigating, we haven’t got a clue who was behind it.”
Organisers of the Turner Prize have appealed for anybody with information to come forward.
