DNA Anti-theft Schemes Go Dutch

A GROUP of Dutch police officers have recently toured the UK on a fact- finding mission to see how British police have been combating burglary and car crime.

The team of eight officers from the Netherlands started out in the London Borough of Richmond, where they witnessed the impressive results of the anti-burglary initiative Operation Lockout.

Using SelectaDNA property marking, the initiative has worked to dramatically reduce the incidence of burglary, and significantly, has stopped burglars coming back. Community Safety Coordinator for Richmond upon Thames, Kevin Fletcher-Biles, said: “Richmond Council and the Police are working in partnership to tackle residential burglary and theft from motor vehicles.”

He continued: “We introduced SelectaDNA marking almost two years ago.
Safer Neighbourhood Teams visit burglary victims and give them DNA property marking kits to protect their possessions – and it works. Recovered items are scanned for DNA marking and can be returned to their owners quickly. The kit also contains warning stickers so householders can use them to deter burglars. As a result, burglaries have dropped from 1,500 a year to fewer than 1,000.”

The Dutch officers were then shown around Twickenham Police Station’s custody suite to see where stolen items are scanned for DNA markings, and they also inspected the Safer Neighbourhood Team base at Hampton, where they met officers who support burglary victims. They were very impressed with what they saw and are planning to take ideas back to the Netherlands in order to launch similar schemes locally.

Next stop for the delegation was to travel to East Anglia to see how SelectaDNA was being used to protect a whole residential area in Norfolk. King's Lynn police have introduced SelectaDNA in a pioneering initiative to protect homes in The Friars area of the town.

The Friars scheme is the first in Norfolk to trial SelectaDNA in all types of property within an identifiable neighbourhood.

Accompanied by local police officers and Selectamark representatives, the Dutch police toured the King's Lynn custody suite and visited some of the participating homes in The Friars.

Since the launch of the scheme in September, householders from a further five residential areas in the King's Lynn area have approached police with a view to buying the product to protect their properties in the same way.

Crime Prevention Officer PC Steve Gower, who introduced the scheme to the Friars, said: "SelectaDNA is a brilliant piece of kit because it acts as a deterrent but can also be traced to the home it was stolen from. It would be difficult for anyone who had that stolen item in their possession to come up with a valid excuse. We were pleased to be able to show our colleagues from The Netherlands how effective this can be."