During February Wilmslow Beat Team will be rolling out a police operation in Handforth aimed at reducing the number of burglaries, by deterring offenders and identifying recovered stolen property.
Operation Shield works by using a DNA liquid which contains an individual code to mark property in your home, garage and shed. The DNA coding in the liquid is registered solely to your address and added to a database. This means that if anything is stolen and subsequently recovered, it can be traced back to you.
The liquid is barely visible and is hard for offenders to see. Once it is applied to property it is very difficult to remove, meaning that if an offender is caught in possession of stolen items marked by the DNA they can be linked directly back to the crime.
All property recovered by Cheshire Police is scanned by ultra-violet beams to check for traces of unique DNA liquid. If they detect any evidence of the liquid, the property is then examined with high-power microscopes to identify the individual code. This information is then put into the database of registered addresses and items can be traced back to the owner.
Sergeant John O'Driscoll said "Homeowners can get marking kits, which come with a container of the unique liquid, an application brush and details of how to register property. Once property has been marked and registered, stickers can be displayed around your property to work as a deterrent to any burglars who may be looking to target your home."
He added "Thanks to funding from Handforth Parish council it has been possible for PCSO Harding to be able to deliver Operation Shield to nearly 200 properties a number that we hope to grow in the near future across the Wilmslow borough."
Photo: Police Community Support Officer Gareth Harding and Sergeant John O'Driscoll.
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