Methodist insurance has teamed up with forensic security experts SmartWater Technology in a bid to protect its insured Methodist churches nationwide from metal thieves.
In order to combat the growing metal theft epidemic, the specialist insurer has provided every Methodist building on its books with a free supply of recognised deterrent SmartWater, a non-hazardous liquid with a DNA-style forensic code designed to reduce the amount of lead stolen from church roofs.
Historically, any stolen metal has been extremely difficult for police to trace.
However, each church will now have its own unique SmartWater code so that marked items can be decisively traced back to the owner, while criminals coming into contact with the liquid can be connected to the crime scene.
Forensic
By simply applying it to appropriate areas, churches are able to add a permanent forensic link to the lead. The solution is invisible under normal light, but glows brightly under UV (ultra-violet) light-making it easily identifiable by the police. According to Methodist Insurance, this has already been shown to be a major factor in stopping thieves, particularly when the notices are also posted around the exterior of the building.
The organisation’s head of insurance operations. Paul Rowley, who believes that thieves are becoming “Increasingly organised and bold’ in their attacks, said: “We want to help every Methodist church we insure with this high-tech security measure, so that these important community buildings and beautiful heritage properties are protected. Any thief considering stealing metals from a Methodist church in future should think twice.”
In 2007 alone Methodist Insurance received almost 350 claims, at a cost of more than £575,000, for the theft of mainly lead from church roofs, as well as other items from within the buildings. Lead, copper and stainless steel roof coverings, lighting conductors, rainwater pipes, bronze statues, iron gates and even church bells have been taken in recent months.
Although the scrap metal itself hold relatively little financial return for the robbers, these break-ins are causing “substantial damage” to Methodist churches, resulting in repair bills of l0’s of thousands of pounds, according to Methodist Insurance. Yorkshire and the Midlands are said to be the hardest-hit areas of the country.
Mr Rowley added: “The increased world demand for metals, together with speculative investment in base metals by financial investors, have seen the international price of lead and copper reach an all-time high. 2007 has seen an unprecedented number of claims for theft of metal, which has caused great disruption and inconvenience for all those involved in the churches that have been affected.”
Methodist Insurance is helping churches to apply SmartWater to large sections of lead roofs, other metals and individual items of property. It will then use spray systems to catch metal thieves, as part of co-ordinated covert operations with the police service.
The insurer also plans to work closely with police forces to target scrap-dealers. As part of this, officers will raise the profile of SmartWater among dealers to ensure that they refuse to accept lead stolen from church roofs.
CEO of SmartWater Technology Phil Cleary backed the move. “We are pleased that Methodist Insurance has decided to deploy SmartWater as a deterrent to for there metal thefts. SmartWater is currently used, in a variety of forms, by 95 per cent of UK police forces. The use of SmartWater has to date resulted in more than 400 convictions and in many of these instances the cases have not even gone to trial owing to the indisputable nature of the evidence,” he said.