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Smartwater is a way of forensically marking all your property and valuables. It means that if your items are stolen and recovered then the police can track down the rightful owner. Just as important it also means that anyone found to be in possession of the stolen goods can be linked to the crime and prosecuted. This means that it is a very effective deterrent against theft.
This is done through a unique code within the liquid that is dabbed on to valuables. The unique code tied with an entry on a computer database can be used to identify the rightful owner.
Smartwater is available to purchase directly costing about £60 per year (SmartWater website). Residents in the Redditch area can however purchase SmartWater from a local scheme for a £15 contribution to the Redditch Community Safety Partnership. These can be purchased from the council "one-stop shops", council owned sports and leisure facilities or from a series of roadshows visiting local supermarkets and community events.
I recently purchased a set from the Hewell Road Swimming Pool. To purchase involved filling out a one page form (which was actually filled out by the cashier) and signing the form before being given the pack. The pack consisted of a basic set of instructions, 3 window stickers (a great deterrent in themselves), some stickers to put on equipment, a UV light and the smartwater itself.
Once I got the smartwater home I went around dabbing some of the smartwater on all my valuables such as my laptop, netbook, camera, TVs and various other items including jewellery. It can even be used on outdoor items such as cycles.
Once the smart-water dries there is no obvious signs that it is there unless you use a UV light which makes the smartwater glow a fluorescent green colour.
If you are purchasing something second hand and you think it maybe stolen you may want to give it a quick once-over with a UV light and see if you can see any green markings. If so you should contact your local police for them to verify that the goods were not stolen. Remember it's an offence to handle stolen goods even if you didn't steal them yourself.
For anyone that lives in Redditch this is a great price and well worth getting hold of. Protect your property today.
Kits are available from the following locations:
