West Mercia Police are joining forces with Redditch Community Safety Partnership to promote the new forensic coding system, SmartWater, in Redditch.
SmartWater is a colourless liquid that contains a chemical marker similar to DNA. It can be painted on to property of any shape or size and once dry, is virtually impossible to remove. And although it is almost invisible to the naked eye, it will show up immediately under ultra violet light.
This product has established itself as a tool for deterring burglary, and police and partners in Redditch are as keen to let criminals know that SmartWater has arrived in the town as they are to promote it to homes and businesses.
Inspector Ian Joseph says: “SmartWater is an innovative product which can have some real benefits in our drive to make Redditch an even safer place in which to live and work.
“We already have procedures in place to ensure that everyone taken into custody at Redditch Police Station is scanned for traces of SmartWater, irrespective of whether they are thought to have been involved in burglary, theft or receiving stolen property.
"Our officers have also been issued with specially adapted UV torches which can detect instantly whether property suspected as having been stolen has been marked with SmartWater. All items recovered by police will be routinely checked under UV light and if marked with SmartWater, will be reunited with the rightful owner via the details provided at initial registration.”
A minuscule amount of the solution is enough to make an identification. Redditch police officers will also be actively searching for traces of SmartWater on property and people in the wider community, using UV detection equipment. Once found, it will provide an irrefutable link between property and its owner, and when found on a person, provides proof of their presence at the scene of a crime.
Traditionally police have encouraged people to postcode their property and while this is still a useful deterrent, SmartWater goes a step further as it can also be applied to small objects, awkwardly shaped items or anything with a rough surface. A thief cannot see at a glance where the property has been marked and as SmartWater is resistant to steam cleaning, pressure washing and metal polishing, it’s unlikely that even the most determined criminal will be able to remove it completely.
To start the SmartWater campaign in Redditch, police and Community Support Officers with representatives from the housing group Fosseway Living offered SmartWater kits free of charge to residents in Brockhill.
Ken Bellis, Neighbourhood Investment Manager for Fosseway Living, says: “The safety and well-being of our tenants is of paramount importance to us and we are delighted to be able to offer our support to this project. We feel sure that those taking advantage of these complimentary SmartWater kits will have extra peace of mind and will feel better protected in their own homes. "
In addition to the SmartWater stickers displayed in people’s homes, police will also arrange for SmartWater road signage – a further deterrent to potential thieves – to be erected in the street.
In the drive to encourage more residents to safeguard their property in this way, police and partners will be handing out information leaflets on SmartWater over the coming weeks, and will be making the home coding kits readily available to everyone from 1 October.
Speaking on behalf of Redditch Community Safety Partnership, Councillor Juliet Brunner, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, says: “This is an excellent initiative. The Redditch Community Safety Partnership has been working closely with colleagues at West Mercia to get this scheme off the ground and we are able to offer local residents the opportunity to obtain Smartwater home coding kits for a contribution of just £15 to the RCSP crime reduction initiative via eleven council-operated venues across the town.”
These include One Stop Shops at Redditch Town Hall, Batchley Shopping Centre, Winyates Shopping Centre and Woodrow Shopping Centre, the Tourist Information Centre at the Palace Theatre, Arrow Vale Sports & Leisure Centre, Abbey Stadium Sports Centre, Kingsley Sports & Leisure Centre, Hewell Road Swimming Pool, Forge Mill Needle Museum & Bordesley Abbey Countryside Centre and also Arrow Valley Countryside Centre.
The kits will also be available to existing Neighbourhood Watch members via their local Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator at a discounted rate of £15 but anyone can purchase them direct from Telford-based SmartWater, which developed the technology. Police, working with Redditch Community Safety Partnership, are hoping it will encourage more people to form new Neighbourhood Watch groups.
Neighbourhood Watch Administrator for North Worcestershire Division, Melvyn Clarke, says, “Neighbourhood Watch is thrilled to get behind SmartWater, and to work with police and the Community Safety Partnerships to ensure that as many people as possible know about it and use it.”
