A rise in break-ins at empty council properties in Durham has prompted a joint response from the police and council to foil the thieves using SmartWater.
Officers from Durham Police have been putting the forensic liquid to work across the unoccupied housing stock in a bid to deter thefts but also with the aim of catching those who still attempt to steal.
The council discovered that within a couple of days of a property becoming vacant they could be the target of a break-in, with the thieves primarily helping themselves to the boiler and piping, with the aim of selling the scrap metal.
To defeat the threat, council officers are now informing the police on the same day that a property becomes vacant so that they can go in straight away and carry out the forensic marking.
The properties are being marked with SmartWater solution, each batch of which is unique to a single address.
Police officers have access to SmartWater marking kits that contain a form of the liquid which can transfer to the thief's skin and be detected even weeks later under ultraviolet light – allowing officers to place them at the scene of the crime for the purposes of providing evidence to a court.
Special ultraviolet torches have been issued to 50 patrol officers in the area, allowing them to quickly check suspects for the presence of SmartWater on their skins, clothes, tools or other materials in their possession. They will also be able to use the pens to routinely scan any known offenders they meet in the course of their work.
Sergeant Jim Cowell, head of the Sherburn Neighbourhood Policing Team, told the Northern Echo newspaper: “The SmartWater we apply is unique to a property. When an offender has SmartWater on them, we know which premises they have been in.
“This is only the beginning of our use of SmartWater. We are going to use it on other items regularly stolen, such as scrap metal, lead flashings and goods which may end up being fly-tipped.”