A survey has found that police forces trialing the SmartWater property coding system support its use in the fight against crime.
Policemen involved in the qualitative study by research firm PRCI complimented the system for helping to reduce burglaries in particular. Four regional police forces were involved, one of which reported a 31% decline in burglaries during the two-year period over which the research was conducted. Another reported a drop of 40%, compared to an average national fall of around 6%.
SmartWater is a forensic coding system that uses DNA technology to mark surfaces with a water-based solution that is invisible to the naked eye and apparently almost impossible to remove. The company that has developed it – which has the same name – provided a package of measures to support its use by the police, including warning signs in areas protected by the system and help to the insurance industry in marketing to policyholders.
Martin Gill, a director of PRCI and a professor of criminology at Leicester University (out of which the research firm was spun out) said: “Our study shows that, whilst there is some inconsistency in how crime is managed by forces, the police experience is that forensic-based solutions offer great potential for the future.”
