Fingering the villains (From Warrington Guardian)

Fingering the villains

A PRIMARY school broken into nine times since September, with criminal damage and stolen goods totting up to £20,000, is now pinning its hopes on new crime-fighting technology to try and beat the bandits.

Equipment at Grange Valley Primary School, Haydock, will be marked with a liquid that leaves a signature that police liken to a unique genetic fingerprint.

This means if stolen equipment like computers are recovered, police can then identify where it was originally taken from.

The move follows a spate of thefts at the school in the past six months. Damage to buildings from break-ins and the lost equipment is thought to have run up combined costs in region of £20,000.

Each item marked with the 'Smartwater' will have a security sticker marked on it. Every school's Smartwater has a unique chemical code that is logged on an international computer database at the Forensic Science Service.

Police hope the system will act as a deterrent to crooks and make it easier to prosecute them once stolen goods are recovered.

Chief Inspector John Martin said: "Smartwater is similar to DNA fingerprinting, only the fingerprint is on the stolen goods rather than the criminal. We will be able to use samples of Smartwater to return stolen goods to their owners and to prove beyond doubt the goods have been stolen."

Headteacher, Phil Hall, added: "The thefts have been very tough on the kids, who in the first place worked hard with parents to help find funds to build a brand new computer suite.

"When they had to come in and see boarded up windows and no equipment. It saps morale, and the sooner we can put an end to it the better. This looks like a positive step."

The scheme is to be rolled out at other schools across the borough.