By Daisy Handfield From Turks and Caicos Weekly News

POLICE have introduced a liquid solution geared at decreasing petty crime.

SmartWater CSI leaves a semi-permanent mark on property that can be viewed only with the use of ultraviolet black lights.

A press conference was held on Friday, April 15, at the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) headquarters in Providenciales to introduce the product and to provide a demonstration on how to use it.

The force has purchased 1,000 kits for distribution across the country and to date officers have already distributed about 500 kits.

Rodney Adams, assistant commissioner for the RTCIPF, said that the system has finally been put in place after years of difficulty in combating theft and the retrieval of stolen goods.

“After many years and efforts to source this much needed tool to assist with property crime investigation, we are pleased here at the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force to present to you this product.”

Adams said that the product will be identified for use in the Turks and Caicos Islands Property Identification Partnership Programme (TCI PIPP).

The solution can be used on items such as smartphones, fishing equipment and jewellery.

Antonio Arserio, from SmartWater CSI Florida said during the conference that the water based solution with rare earth metals is made up to form a unique forensic signature.

He said: “Each bottle is unique to each user. Once you register your bottle with the RTCIPF, it goes into our database and everything that you mark will register back to you as the property owner.”

The solution is an invisible marker which fluoresces under an ultraviolet light.

Any item marked with the solution cannot be seen by the naked eye, but can be picked up by the ultraviolet light and tested and traced back to its owner as every single marker has a unique DNA.

“It is extremely effective. We have over 1,200 convictions worldwide and our biggest claim to fame is the power of the deterrents of SmartWater CSI.

“Virtually every neighbourhood and every community that it’s gone into, whether it’s Europe or the United States, they have seen drastic reductions in property crime or from 25 percent to as high as 75 percent,” Arserio said.

Anyone who wants a kit can contact assistant superintendent Hilton Duncan on 232-4383 in Providenciales or inspector Sandy Williams on 232-6652 in Grand Turk.

For more on this story go to: http://tcweeklynews.com/police-introduce-new-water-based-product-aimed-at-crime-reduction-p7046-127.htm

IMAGE: thinblueflorida.com

SmartWater CSI http://smartwatercsi.com/