A teenager has become the latest person to be convicted – and was given a suspended prison sentence – after the use of a new DNA ‘tagging’ spray against moped criminals and nuisance off road riders as deployed by police. Police point out that no matter if offenders wear a headscarf, helmet or balaclava, their anonymity can’t be guaranteed.
In West Yorkshire Police’s first use of the SelectaDNA spray, an 18-year-old, and the vehicle he was riding, were marked with the spray (every canister of which contains a unique chemical signature), indisputably linking him to the offence. He was later arrested at his home and, when checked with a UV lamp, officers found a tagging agent on his hand and clothing matching the canister he was sprayed from, proving he was on the vehicle. He was sentenced for two offences of dangerous driving and driving without a licence.
Merseyside Police have previously secured two convictions for anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving using the same SelectaDNA spray. The spray is also being used by West Midlands (photo: courtesy of West Midlands Police), Cheshire and Surrey police.
Officers are now warning riders they have the tools to indisputably link them to the vehicles they offend on after using the DNA spray. West Yorkshire Police report a 32pc reduction in off road crime in areas that the spray project has been piloted in since the summer.
Insp Paul Sullivan of the Wakefield East NPT area, said: “We are very conscious of the impact of anti-social off road riding on our communities in Pontefract, Castleford and South East areas. As a result we have acquired and been trialling a new DNA spray to ‘tag’ offenders in the act. It is a harmless, odourless and invisible solution, naked to the eye and is proving invaluable in helping us solve the problem of identifying offenders.”
After that first conviction to come from the use of the spray in West Yorkshire, Insp Sullivan said: “By spraying the riders and the vehicle they are on while they are offending, our officers effectively ‘tie’ them to the offence, proving beyond doubt that they were the person filmed offending.”
