DNA Tagging Spray Is New Line Of Defence

Despite being classified as ‘essential workers’ during the COVID-19 crisis, shop workers reported a shocking rise in violence and verbal abuse directed at them during the pandemic. 

In fact, a survey conducted by trade union Usdaw reports that almost two-thirds (62%) of the 4,928 workers surveyed said they had experienced verbal abuse since lockdown began, while almost a third had been threatened by a customer and 4% had been assaulted. 

However, some of these attacks could have been prevented from ever taking place by using products already in use by the Police called SelectaDNA Tagging Sprays. They are compact offender marking sprays used to deter personal attack and criminal behaviour and can be deployed without the need for physical intervention.

SelectaDNA offer a range of tagging sprays including Defence, Elite Defence and DNA Tagging spray.

By equipping police and specially trained security officers with this synthetic DNA spray that tags offenders with a unique forensic ID code, it gives them a valuable tool that can help track down suspects and link them directly to a crime scene.

Commercial guards and patrol officers working for Venture Security across the UK have been carrying the sprays to provide an extra layer of protection as they go about their day-to-day work making sure people, stock, equipment, and premises are safe. 

Paul Howe, Managing Director of Venture Security, said: “The spray gives our officers confidence that they have the means to act positively in situations where they might not necessarily be able to restrain offenders.”

Security teams at Liverpool FC’s stadium Anfield carry the SelectaDNA Defence Spray to deter unrest around the ground, while Harrods and JD Sports are also deploying it to prevent crime. 

Companies have a duty of care to protect and monitor all their staff when working. This includes other groups such as Police Community Support Officers, security guards, hospital workers and public transport employees who are also more vulnerable at work. 

Anyone carrying the one of the tagging sprays will have received specialist operational training from security company Selectamark Security Systems plc that produces them. Officers and guards can then use the spray to mark offenders with a solution that’s invisible to the naked eye and almost impossible to remove. The solution is easily identifiable under UV light, and irrefutably links criminals with crimes.

James Brown, Managing Director of Selectamark, said: “Knowing that an attack on someone carrying a SelectaDNA spray comes with a higher rate of conviction, means that criminals are less likely to commit the crime in the first place - drastically reducing incidents of theft and attack.”

He added: “The range of SelectaDNA Tagging Sprays should only be used after other forms of conflict resolution have failed, or when an offender is fleeing a scene. The spray is used to reduce levels of tension and stop any conflict happening in the first place.” 

The sprays are also being used by over half the police forces in the UK including West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, Cheshire, Surrey, the Met Police and Police Scotland to tackle anti-social behaviour and motorcycle-related crime.

The threat of criminals carrying out drive-by thefts – often on stolen mopeds and scooters as victims walk along the pavement – has surged dramatically in recent years.

SelectaDNA Tagging Sprays have become one of the main tactics used by police officers to tackle these gangs. And as police figures show, the spray technology reduced moped-related crimes by 52% in London and 60% in Edinburgh in 2018. It also reduced incidents of motorbike crime by 70% in Sunderland and South Tyneside when used by Northumbria Police in 2018.

James Brown said: “It makes criminals really assess the risk they’re willing to take and what lengths they will go to in order to ensure they aren't traceable.

“It gives the police exactly what they want, which is the ability to link a criminal wearing a balaclava, hoodie or helmet – who they may think they know is the offender but haven’t got the evidence – with a crime scene.

“If the police see someone commit an offence and chase after them, but then lose sight of the person before apprehending them later, the offender can say ‘it wasn’t me, it must have been someone who looks like me’.

“But if the police manage to spray this person first before they get away initially, they have the evidence they need.

“It is an extremely strong deterrent,” James Brown added. “It has worked for the Police for many years, and now retailers and providers of SIA licenced security officers are starting to see the benefits SelectaDNA brings in reducing criminal activity.”