Smart Water to Catch Burglars

23 April 2010, 11:26 | Updated: 23 April 2010, 11:43

Heart's been shown how Smart Water is being used to catch burglars in Ashford.

Capsules of the liquid, which contains a unique code, are activated when a crime takes placed and spray the offender.

The liquid only shows up under a special light, so all prisoners who come into South Kent Custody suites are now being routinely scanned to see if they have any of the Smart Water on them.

Because the code within the liquid is unique, officers can tell which premises it has come from.

Keiran Madden, Police Liaison Manager for Smartwater Technology Ltd, said: “This is proven crime reduction technique, designed to de stabilise criminality.

"The water-based solution, derived from naturally occurring minerals, has a unique ‘DNA’ and every application is different and never replicated.

"This means that an offender who has been sprayed with Smartwater can be placed at the scene of a crime, because each application is registered to the home or premises it is installed in.

"It can also be applied to property, and again the unique ‘DNA’ will be registered to each item. The application to property does not transfer and dries in about two hours. Property can be quickly identified, and link an offender to a crime.”

Acting DCI Julien Lawton said: “Kent police and Ashford Borough Council are determined to fight crime and reduce the fear of crime, and increase the fear of capture for offenders.

"Every person who comes into a custody suite in Kent will now be routinely scanned for evidence of Smartwater, which shows up under UV light.

"I want to send out a clear message to all criminals that this technology is a powerful tool in the fight against crime and it offers irrefutable evidence, which places suspects at the scene of a crime.

“South Kent police have also started to give kits to repeat victims of burglary and vulnerable members of the public, and this has been funded jointly by Kent Police and Ashford Borough Council”.