Police to scan for special dye on suspects (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Police to scan for special dye on suspects

4:21pm Friday 3rd July 2009 in

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Criminals taken into police custody in Leyland will now be placed under a UV spotlight to see if their skin has been dyed by a special type of water.

SmartWater technology uses a safe, chemically-enhanced water to safeguard property.

It can be used as a spray which goes off when an offender breaks into a home, building or a car.

The criminal is then showered in the solution causing a near permanent mark which can be identified using ultra-violet light.

SmartWater can also be used to mark property.

Criminals won’t know if the property they have stolen or the premises they have broken into were fitted with SmartWater.

The solution is very difficult to remove and only shows up under a certain wavelength of UV light.

Superintendent Bill McMahon, from Lancashire Police Southern Division said: "I would like to reassure residents of Lancashire that burglary offences are at a 35 year low, so you are now less likely to become a victim of burglary, however this does not mean we can become complacent.

"We will continue to target criminals and the introduction of SmartWater into Leyland custody suite is as part of our continued crackdown on criminal activity and is a powerful tool in the detection of burglary offences." Sergeant Al McMiken from Lancashire Police explained: “SmartWater technology can pinpoint the exact house or vehicle the suspect has broken into. Washing or dry cleaning clothes will not remove SmartWater and only a sample the size of a pinhead is needed to establish where the individual was sprayed.

"The product is already widely used to protect property and this development will be a further help to us in crime detection — it really is an excellent tool.

SmartWater can be used to mark all kinds of property from computers, to mobile phones, DVDs, antiques, documents and garden equipment. Equally it can be sprayed on would-be offenders from covert dispensers.

For further information on how to obtain SmartWater or its uses please contact the Crime Reduction Advisor’s Beverley Warburton on (Leyland) 01772 625593 or Margaret Rushton on (Chorley) 01257 246384.

The launch of SmartWater in Leyland custody is part of Operation Julius a force wide campaign aimed at preventing crime, targeting criminals involved in burglary and detecting burglary offences.