West Midlands Police are highlighting a forensic marking product’s use to help businesses cut crime.
A event on the Peartree Industrial Park at the premises of Orson Equipment in Dudley was attended by the Mayor of Dudley Councillor Margaret Aston, West Midlands Police Acting Inspector Corrina Griffiths and Bob Dimmock, Community Safety Commissioning Manager of Dudley’s Community Safety Partnership safe & sound.
SelectaDNA is produced by security company Selectamark and the company’s Managing Director James Brown marked equipment belonging to car parts manufacturer Orson Equipment, owned by local businessman Dave Woods.
safe & sound is made up of voluntary and public sector bodies including Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Bob Dimmock, who heads the partnership, said: “SelectaDNA is being used where there is a known problem in a bid to prevent residents or businesses being targeted.”
The use of the property marking product by the police and council, has helped Dudley become the safest borough in the West Midlands to live in, with reported crime falling by 40 per cent in the last six years. Mr Dimmock added: “Dudley has been the forerunner in using SelectaDNA which is now widely used amongst the other West Midlands boroughs. Promoting and distributing SelectaDNA kits across the borough has contributed towards reduction in crime particularly repeat victims. The use of SelectaDNA has a multi-beneficial impact – helping to reassure vulnerable people and acting as a deterrent to would-be offenders. Its aims are also to help with identification of recovered stolen property and prosecuting offenders.”
SelectaDNA comes in a pot of adhesive solution which can be applied to any valuables. It is the makers add virtually impossible to remove every trace of SelectaDNA and each trace links criminals to the crimes they commit.
Microdots in the solution contain the details of both the unique owner code and the website address for the SelectaDNA database. Police can identify the owner of a marked asset via the Secure Asset Register, Selectamark’s police and LPCB-approved database.
Acting Inspector Corrina Griffiths of West Midlands Police said: “Our latest initiative concentrated on vulnerable and repeat business locations. This was to address an increase of metal theft within the borough to offer reassurance and reduce crime at these particular locations. Feedback from the local businesses has been very positive. This was the first time these kits had been distributed to businesses, previously they had only been used for residential properties.”
SelectaDNA has already been used in the following West Midlands Police and safe & sound Community Safety Partnership Operations, all resulting in reductions in crime:
Operation Identity
In 2008, Dudley Safe & Sound Community Safety Partnership embarked upon a burglary reduction initiative to reduce residential burglaries. The outcome of this trial was a 44pc reduction in offences.
Operation Spotlight
More than 700 previous victims of crime were provided with a property marking kit. Subsequent data showed a reduction of repeat victims of residential burglary down from 6.8pc (West Midlands average) to 1.7pc for the borough.
Operation Challenge
In 2013, another initiative was launched, similar to Spotlight. Again reductions in burglary dwellings, particularly among repeat victims were good.
Operation Cable
SelectaDNA catalytic converter marking kits and metal marking kits are distributed to reduce the incidents of metal theft across the borough.
