SelectaDNA reduces burglary and the fear of crime on Middlesborough housing estate
(17/03/2010)
Since June 2008, Coast & Country Housing Association has been upgrading the Grangetown North housing estate to a more modern community through the improvement and renovation of over 340 properties. Part of the process has been the use of hundreds of SelectaDNA forensic property marking kits in order to reduce and deter theft of valuables on the estate.
Eighteen months after the launch of a regeneration scheme involving the use of SelectaDNA on a Middlesborough housing estate, both burglary and the fear of crime have been reduced.
As burglary rates have dropped, this has had the knock-on effect of improving residents’ morale by creating a safer environment to live and reducing the fear of crime.
The scheme is being supported by Cleveland Police and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. The marking of residents’ property is being carried out jointly by housing staff, police PCSOs, and community wardens.
SelectaDNA works by irrefutably linking criminals to burglaries and break-ins. The product consists of a water-based adhesive containing a locked-in DNA code, a UV tracer and a series of microdots which can be easily applied to any items of value, such as laptops, computer equipment, TVs, DVD players, iPods and mobile phones.
Coast & Country’s Andrea Todd said: “Not only have we been marking personal items belonging to residents such as small electrical items and garden equipment, but we have also been marking our own property such as boilers and copper piping. Using SelectaDNA makes it very difficult for thieves to sell items like these on if they have already been marked.”
She continued: “The upgrading programme at Grangetown North has been a big success and SelectaDNA has played a large part in that.”
Inspector Guy Hall, from Cleveland Police, said: “SelectaDNA has been effective in reducing burglary on the estate, and in particular has played an important role in reducing the fear of crime among residents who were previously living in a high crime area.”
Related topics: Crime and Fraud Prevention Tagging vandalism and theft prevention
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