Residents in an area of Reading have been offered the chance to protect their property with SmartWater marking kits provided by their police force.
Officers are making 300 uniquely-coded SmartWater marking systems available to householders in Whitley in a bid to drive down burglaries in the area.
Once applied to belongings, the colourless liquid provides a marking that is unique to each homeowner and which police officers can quickly and easily detect using ultraviolet light.
Any marked property recovered after a break-in can be linked back to its rightful owner, allowing it to be returned to them and providing evidence for police to use in prosecuting thieves.
Once applied SmartWater is virtually impossible to remove and scientists can use even the smallest trace of the substance to prove ownership of an item.
Whitley residents have been given the opportunity to receive a kit by calling their neighbourhood policing team.
Sergeant Alexander Willis, of South Reading police, said: “By using SmartWater to protect property, people are sending out a powerful warning to all thieves and burglars.
“The aim is to reduce the number of burglaries and repeat victims and to increase the chances of the offenders being caught.”
He added: “The detection kit is already in our custody suites for us to check prisoners brought into custody for traces of SmartWater. Officers will carry UV fobs and we have other handheld UV lights for use on operations.”
Would-be burglars will be warned about SmartWater-protected properties by window stickers that come with the marking kits.