Free Smartwater marking to Sheffield residents after a spate of burglaries

South Yorkshire Police have offered free Smartwater marking to the public following the rise of burglary reports in a Sheffield suburb.
By Rahmah Ghazali
Published 18th Dec 2019, 21:28 BST
Updated 18th Dec 2019, 21:28 BST
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PCSO's from the Neighbourhood Policing Team have started offering the high-tech liquid marking to residents in the Woodthorpe area this week.

"Smartwater is a traceable forensic liquid used for Crime Prevention purposes. Woodthorpe has been specifically targeted due to crimes reported to the police in this area.”

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The high-tech liquid, which is only visible under special lights, has already been used on over 2,000 homes across the city in a scheme aimed at reducing burglary.

Police are marking lots of properties with SmartwaterPolice are marking lots of properties with Smartwater
Police are marking lots of properties with Smartwater

It is used to mark up items of value which can be linked to specific homes on a database.

If the items are ever stolen and recovered, police officers will be able to trace the genuine owners and link suspects to crimes.

Door staff in pubs and clubs in Sheffield have also been issued with Smartwater to identify those involved in serious incidents in city centre venues.

Each batch of SmartWater use has its own DNA-type code, linking people sprayed with it to specific locations and incidents.