Moves to make life tougher for burglars have been unveiled at a Community Conference held by Rochford District Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP).

The CDRP is backing a police plan to distribute a property marking system to residents in burglary ‘hot spots’ and to repeat burglary victims.

SelectaDNA is an advanced forensic crime reduction system which links criminals to crime scenes and provides an unbreakable chain of evidence for police.

The irremovable liquid solution is almost invisible when applied to valuable property such as televisions, MP3 players and bikes and contains a DNA-code linked to the individual residential address.

If stolen items are later recovered they can be linked directly with the crime scene, not only allowing the property to be returned to the owner but also increasing the chance of conviction.

As well as the solution itself, residents in the designated areas will also be given window stickers and signs to display to warn potential thieves that their homes are secured with SelectaDNA.

Additionally, special ‘Thieves Beware’ street signs will be displayed in areas where the scheme has been implemented,
said Inspector Andy Parkman.

He added: “These will be a visible deterrent to criminals and go a long way towards making the District less attractive to burglars”.

The conference also heard presentations from the CDRP, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, the Essex Probation
Service and Rochford District Council Community Safety Team.