SmartWater Decoy houses used in Cheshire to crackdown on criminals who break into people’s homes have scored their first conviction.
The homes are kitted out with cameras and SmartWater which marks property and offenders with a forensic liquid, linking them to a crime scene. Decoy cars using similar technology have been used successfully in the county before, but this is the first time Cheshire Constabulary has used a decoy house.
The scheme has already seen its first success; Martin Joseph Luke Whelan, 43, of Norris Road, Blacon, appeared at Cheshire Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to a burglary involving the theft of a mountain bike, tool box, a lamp and copper wiring from the house in Stamford Road, Blacon.
Whelan was caught when he activated a SmartWater spray system, dousing him in a forensic liquid carrying a trace back to the crime scene. The substance is invisible to the naked eye but can be easily identified by officers with ultraviolet light. SmartWater also remains on skin, hair and clothing for several weeks or months and will not wash off. He received a 15 week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Officers from Cheshire Constabulary worked with Chester and District Housing Trust to set up the covert trap in a flat in Stamford Road, Blacon.
Detective Sergeant Simon Owen of the Western Area Proactive Policing Team said: “By working in partnership with Chester and District Housing Trust we were able to set up this scene in one of their flats. This is something that has not been done in Cheshire before, but we do have more of these properties across the Western Area of the county and will continue to work in this way to catch suspected burglars.
“We want to warn potential thieves that any house they break into could be fitted with SmartWater.”
Julia Nundy, Assistant Director for Housing at the trust said: “Chester and District Housing Trust works extremely closely with the police and other partner agencies to improve community safety. We were pleased to respond to the request to identify a suitable property for this police operation aimed at thieves who enter the homes of people who are often elderly and vulnerable.
“CDHT are delighted with the success of this initiative and will continue to work with the police in other such initiatives which we believe will have a positive effect on the lives of not only our tenants but other members of our communities.”
Residents across Blacon are protecting their homes by marking their property with SmartWater in a joint partnership with the police and landlords to make the community safer.