Police in Weston-super-Mare have successfully returned a stolen laptop containing precious family photos to its rightful owner, because it was marked with SmartWater.
Angela Williams, aged 48, from Weston, marked her property with SmartWater when police were publicising a crime prevention initiative in May 2008. Residents in Jubilee Road and Alfred Street in Weston were given a free bottle to combat burglary following a successful trial on the Bournville.
SmartWater is a forensic liquid which can be painted onto any valuable item, and once marked it is virtually impossible to remove and can only be seen under ultraviolet (UV) light. The solution carries a forensic code within it, that allows Police to pinpoint the true owner of any marked item.
Mrs Williams said: "I was so pleased to see my laptop again, as it contains all my photos and videos of my grandchildren when they were younger. I was devastated to have lost them, as they mean so much to me.
"I am so pleased that I was able to take part in the free SmartWater trial and would recommend it to anyone. You don't realise how important it is to safeguard things of value or sentimental importance until they're gone. It's so simple to do that there is no reason not to. I will definitely be marking all my property in the future, as I know first-hand that it can make the difference between never seeing your item again and having it safely returned."
Sergeant Dave Hayward from Avon and Somerset Police added: "The use of SmartWater in homes and schools has been a real success in North Somerset. We were able to make three arrests after SmartWater-marked computers were stolen from Backwell School in March and it was a real pleasure to return the recovered laptop to Mrs Williams”.
"Marking your property significantly increases the chances of having lost or stolen items returned to you should they be recovered by the police. We also recommend that you keep photographs of jewellery and a note of any serial numbers for your electrical items."
Phil Cleary, Chief Executive of SmartWater, said: “The forensic technology behind SmartWater provides the police with robust evidence that irrefutably proves the ownership of any item. In addition to identifying property, SmartWater can also be used to link criminals to crime scenes and has successfully been used to prosecute hundreds of offenders across the UK.”
