INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A northwestern Indiana police
department on Tuesday became one of the first law enforcement agencies
in the country to distribute a theft-deterring chemical that leaves
DNA-like "signatures" on property and those who attempt to steal it.
Makers
of SmartWater CSI say the product makes it easy to track stolen items
and link thieves to crimes they’ve committed. Although it has seldom
been used in the United States beyond Florida, company officials say
it’s been used in Europe for several years.
"I call it virtual
DNA. It specifically ties that item or items to that individual owner.
It’s that specific," said Porter County Sheriff David Lain, who began
distributing SmartWater through a local senior advocacy group Tuesday.
When
treated with SmartWater, stolen valuables can be returned to their
proper owner, its makers and supporters say. The chemical can be applied
to items by owners or can be sprayed in a fine mist to mark burglars
who try to enter property. It’s invisible until placed under black
light.
The company claims the substance, which is made from "rare
earths and chemicals," can create up to 1 billion distinct chemical
signatures.
After seeing a recent presentation on SmartWater, Lain
was so convinced it would help discourage thieves that he ordered 150
vials at $35 each to be given away to seniors. Lain said Tuesday he is
considering ordering 100 additional kits out of jail commissary funds.
"I think I want to go further. It’s a matter of financing more than anything," Lain said.
The
chemical also has been distributed in several neighborhoods in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, where Police Chief Frank Adderley said he is
considering expanding to two more.
Logan Pierson, president of the
company’s Fort Lauderdale-based U.S. operations, said traces of the
chemical can stay on people for years. But whether it will hold up as
evidence in court isn’t known.
Pierson said SmartWater has been
used in one conviction and has been a factor in several plea agreements,
but he said the company expected legal challenges in the U.S. because
it’s a new product here.
A Florida law firm has offered to defend suspects who have been sprayed with SmartWater on the basis of
its long-term effect.
Adderley
said burglaries in one Fort Lauderdale neighborhood dropped 14 percent
in one year after residents began using the substance. But he
acknowledged that police also used tactics such as covert operations.
SmartWater’s main value, supporters say, is as a deterrent.
Adderley
said burglars avoid homes with SmartWater warning stickers, and
suspects are repeatedly shown signs during booking about the hazards of
targeting homes using SmartWater.
Lain, the Porter County sheriff, is eager to see how the product works in his community.
"Everybody
knows the value of DNA," Lain said. "So I think the idea of something
having a marker that is individual and unique to an individual is
something that people very much understand."