Boiler theft in property belonging to City and County of Swansea Council has been reduced from 47 cases to zero over a six month period after a property marking campaign. Due to a rise in metal theft in void and tenanted housing, the Welsh council decided to mark all of its 13,000 boilers in all of its properties across the city.
The items were marked using SelectaDNA forensic marking fluid, which leaves behind an invisible but unique DNA code that can be traced back to Swansea council property if a thief tried to sell on the stolen metal. Selectamark’s original permanent marking system, which involves a visible stencil-etching bearing the council’s name is also being used to make sure that thieves are in no doubt that the boilers are protected.
From May 1 to October 31 (the six months) there have been no thefts of any marked boilers, in the same time frame last year there were 47 boiler thefts costing the council more than £100,000.
Nigel Williams, Group Leader of Maintenance from Swansea Council, said: “We chose SelectaDNA and Selectamark marking for our boilers because they are market leading brands and the DNA element in SelectaDNA has led to convictions, the project has been an overwhelming success saving the authority a substantial amount of money.”
Visit http://www.selectadna.co.uk/
