EVERY household in a residential street in Caversham, Reading, has signed up to a forensic property marking scheme aimed at deterring burglars.
Homeowners in Mayfield Drive were given SelectaDNA kits by the Caversham neighbourhood policing team to mark any valuable household items they wanted to protect from burglary.
The kits contain a uniquely coded non-toxic liquid that can be easily painted on to items of value such as laptops, TVs, games consoles, jewellery, garden equipment and bikes.
The liquid is clear but shows up under UV light. If a marked item is stolen and recovered by police it can be traced back to the owner via its ‘DNA’ code. Marked households are registered on to a secure national database.
Mayfield Drive is the first road in Caversham where every resident has used SelectaDNA, making the neighbourhood a virtual ‘no-go’ area for burglars.
PCSO Rob Dunford said: “We held a street briefing in the road in May and the residents all expressed great enthusiasm for getting involved in the trial.
“Since then, we have been working hard with the area’s Neighbourhood Watch scheme to make sure the kits have been distributed to residents and warning signs put up in the area.
“The great thing about these DNA kits is they give greater peace of mind for residents and act as a real deterrent for would-be burglars, who tend to fear these products.”
He added: “We would like to thank the Neighbourhood Watch coordinators for their enthusiasm and hard work in achieving this goal and for going over and above what was expected of them by trying to include everyone in the road.”
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