How A New Crime Detection System Reduced Theft By 80%

London, UK — A thief was apprehended by the police thanks to a curious crime deсtection system.

28-year-old Yafet Askale broke into a car in northwest London, and stole several items, including a laptop. The police were quickly alarmed and apprehended him shortly after the crime was committed.

Askale was sentenced to 49 hours of community work and has to pay restitution. Although he pleaded not guilty to the crime, the police were able to prove othervise.

Ultra-violet scans helped to reveal that the thief’s face and jacket were heavily covered in a susbtance which is odourless, invisible to the naked eye. It is almost impossible to wash out this substance from clothes, and it stays on the skin for weeks.

The system, called SmartWater system, is currently on the trial in London. Local people in Harlesden have been given free kits by police to mark their own valuables to deter thieves, and help catch them if they strike anyway.

The devices can detect intruders, and spray them automatically with a fine mist of the substance, which is marked with a combination of chemicals that enables police to link people to a particular incident.

Street robbery in the area has been reduced by 40 percent, and burglary by 80.

Local Detective Inspector says: “The trap car forms part of an overall crime reduction strategy designed by SmartWater, which is an effective weapon in the armoury of tools that we routinely use in Brent. We will continue to target those who are insistent on committing these types of offence.”

Shouldn’t we introduce something similar in Nigeria?

 

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