Smartwater for South Cambridgeshire villages to ward off burglars

OFFICERS in South Cambridgeshire have been working with residents to put security measures in place to tackle burglary.
As part of Operation Oaklands, a police initiative to improve home security and reduce the risk of burglary, officers have been visiting a number of villages in South Cambridgeshire to offer advice and crime prevention products such as SmartWater property marking kits.
Each village will receive a SmartWater branded sign to advertise the fact that residents have protected their property with SmartWater technology and hopefully deter burglars.
Elsworth was the first village to receive their sign. Community representatives, Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators and parish councillors attended the launch event, along with police and SmartWater staff, at 11am on Monday February 9 2015 in the village.
Rachel Carr, Crime Reduction Officer for South Cambridgeshire, said:

“SmartWater is a unique coding system which has been used by police forces for a number of years, to tackle both commercial and domestic burglary. The product has helped Police forces to reduce domestic burglary by as much as 85% in some areas. It consists of non-toxic solution which can be painted onto virtually any surface. Once dry, under normal light it is not detectable, but under ultraviolet (UV) light it glows bright yellow. A huge benefit is that it is extremely difficult to remove and even the smallest of traces can be analysed to prove ownership of a marked item. Similar to DNA profiling, each unique solution can be identified and authenticated – there are millions of combinations available, each formula will be specific to a customer.
 The system includes a number of warning signs that are placed on doors and windows stickers to warn potential thieves that SmartWater is in use. It has proven to be a very effective deterrent to offenders where other forces have run similar projects.”