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A Revolutionary security system has slashed crime in two urban areas of Burton in Staffordshire and saved taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds.

Results of a project involving the use of Smartwater, a liquid for coating valuables with a unique forensic security code, show that burglaries and thefts of and from vehicles have plummeted in Stapenhill and Winshill since the operation’s launch in November last year.

Compared to the same six-month period the previous year, burglaries in Stapenhill crashed 39.5 per cent, from 26 to 16, while there were none in the area where Smartwater was deployed.

Thefts from vehicles in the same ward fell by 59 per cent, from 22 to nine, while there was a 70 per cent decrease in the SmartWater protected zone, which was blighted by only three. Stapenhill also saw a halving in its rate of thefts of vehicles, from 14 to seven, with only three of the offences in the SmartWater protected area.

In Winshill, burglaries nose-dived 69 per cent, from 29 to nine, while there were none in the part of the area where Smartwater was used. Thefts from vehicles in the ward plummeted by three-quarters, from 28 to seven, with only three in the protected area compared to 14 the previous year. Thefts of vehicles in Winshill fell by a third, from six to four, while there were none in the Smartwater area.

Calculations determined that Stapenhill and Winshill suffered 37 fewer victims of crime and saved taxpayers almost £50,000 on burglaries, more than £15,000 on thefts from vehicles and more than £16,000 on thefts of vehicles.

Checks in a neighbouring area found no displacement of crimes, with burglaries down 88 per cent, from nine to one, thefts from vehicles down 60 per cent, from 15 to six, and thefts of vehicles down two-thirds, from three to one.

Inspector Steve Burton, commander of the Burton Neighbourhood Policing Unit, said the results of the project, codenamed Operation Transition, were the fruit of a partnership between organisations such as the police, fire service, East Staffordshire Borough Council and Burton Addiction Centre.

Chief Superintendent Mick Harrison, who heads the police’s Burton-based Trent Valley division, said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the impact this has made and I’m really pleased we’ve seen a significant reduction in victims of crime.”