Flegg Residents Reassured By SelectaDNA

Flegg Residents Reassured By SelectaDNA 

RESIDENTS living in rural villages in the Flegg area of Norfolk are being encouraged to protect their property through the use of SelectaDNA marking kits.

The Rural Flegg Villages Safer Neighbourhood Team, which includes PCSOs Paul Edwards, Pete Williamson and Jude Ward, have been distributing the kits door-to-door and at community meetings in villages such as Fleggburgh and Filby.

Antique candlesticks and other religious equipment at St Mary’s, the mediaeval hilltop church in the village of West Somerton, have also been marked with SelectaDNA to deter thieves from breaking in.

SelectaDNA is a clear fluid that can be easily applied to personal property such as TVs, laptops, iPods and jewellery, marking it invisibly with a unique code which is revealed only when scanned with a UV light.

Property which has been marked can be easily identified if it is stolen and subsequently recovered by Police. The DNA marking allows Police to place the burglar at the crime scene, which can increase chances of a conviction.

PCSO Pete Williamson said: “Crime figures are relatively low in rural Flegg, but we decided to introduce SelectaDNA mainly as a deterrent to burglars, but also to reassure residents after several burglaries at the end of 2009 in the Martham area.”

He continued: “So far, we have had a very good response. In one village in particular where we went door-to-door only 2 householders out of 100 didn’t want to get involved. The product is easy to use and residents have found it very simple to fill out the necessary registration details.”