Burglars could be caught out by hidden DNA marking under a new scheme from Kingston police.
A minute-sized dot placed surreptitiously on a laptop, bicycle, or other item of property links it back to its owner.
Thieves caught with property will have a UV lamp shone on their ill-gotten gains illuminating the dot and linking them with a crime and allowing an instant arrest.
Tudor Sergeant Dan Turner said: “We come across it all the time where we have a person and we’re not happy that it is their property.
“They say it is their property. Now we can prove it.”
Margaret Levy, 83, a former chairman of the Tudor Area Residents’ Association Kingston, had a laptop and a mobile phone marked and said she would consider DNA marking an expensive plant pot in her home.
She said: “I think it is fantastic. I have never been a victim of burglary but my son has had his house done twice. It is more difficult for them to get rid of it.”
The scheme has been running in Tudor ward for two months and is free.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here