Today in the Puriri Street Area of Whanganui, local Police in partnership with forensic marking company SelectaDNA launched the Safe as Houses initiative which is aimed at tackling burglary in the community.
The initiative involves the distribution of Crime Prevention Kits to over 400 homes in the Puriri Street Area over the next five days by teams made up of Police, Lions Club, Whanganui Rotary Clubs, Maori Wardens, and Community Patrols. These kits include SelectaDNA, a unique synthetic liquid used to invisibly mark household valuables.
Whanganui Area Commander, Inspector Steve Mastrovich says: "Crime prevention is a whole-of-community effort and it's great to see everybody that came out this morning to support the Safe as Houses initiative."
"The focus of Safe as Houses is preventing crime before it happens and by working together we can achieve significant burglary reductions throughout the Area using the SelectaDNA strategy."
Last week, Neighbourhood Policing Officers visited local second hand and scrap metal businesses and provided them with UV torches and crime prevention training to help them identify stolen property that comes across their counter.
"Empowering residents with the right tools and crime prevention advice contributes to safer communities and frees up our officers time to focus on further crime prevention activities," says Inspector Mastrovich.
Residents will be shown how to apply SelectaDNA to their valuables, how to place SelectaDNA stickers in appropriate places in and around their homes, and have their kits registered to their address.
Today's launch follows a six-month trial in 2009 in which SelectaDNA kits were distributed to homes in an area of Counties Manukau resulting in a 61.8 percent reduction in burglaries over the trial period.
SelectaDNA Director David Morrissey says: “Under Operation SNAP we’ve been fortunate to be a part of many community initiatives. The Safe as Houses projects are really exciting for us to be a part of and we expect that we will replicate the success we’ve experienced in both Auckland and Hamilton.”
“The SelectaDNA strategy is a holistic approach to preventing crime. We see the Safe as Houses Programme as a strong platform for the community to grow from, not only to reduce burglary in the immediate Puriri Street Area, but across wider Whanganui," says Mr Morrissey.
Residents will also be encouraged to record their property serial numbers on the SNAP website — This FREE website, www.snap.org.nz is used to record serial numbers and images of valuables such as electronics, firearms, passports and jewellery.
Those that register with SNAP will also receive SNAP stickers which let criminals know that their property is registered with SNAP. The stickers along with a SelectaDNA paint stencil were jointly created and designed by the local UCOL students.
In combination with the launch, an art exhibition featuring 'glow in the dark' artwork completed by children from local schools and kindergartens was opened (photos below). The artwork on the theme of 'safe houses' will be displayed for the remainder of the week under black lights in a 'maze' set up at the St Marks Church hall in Whanganui.
Signage attached to lampposts identifying the Puriri Street Area as protected by SelectaDNA have also been put up as part of the initiative.
"To be safe and feel safe is the right of all Whanganui communities and we will follow up the initiative roll out with a resident perception of safety survey in the months to come," says Inspector Mastrovich.
Police encourage members of the public with any knowledge of those who are stealing or receiving stolen property to call Whanganui Police on (06) 349 0600. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
NB: SelectaDNA - How it works
SelectaDNA works by marking property with a liquid that contains a unique identifier which once dry is invisible and stays on valuables indefinitely.
Every bottle is registered in the SelectaDNA database which will be referred to by police to aid investigations and solve crimes. If an object is marked with SelectaDNA the solution will glow bright blue when placed under UV light.
Detecting a sample the size of a pinhead is enough to help police place a person at a crime or, in the case of stolen goods, be able to return them to the rightful owner.
Each domestic kit contains a bottle of solution to mark between 50 to 100 items, a UV light and a set of high visibility warning stickers with the message “You Steal, You’re Marked!”, to be placed in windows to let criminals know items in the house are protected by SelectaDNA.
Media enquiries should be referred to Communications Manager Sara Stavropoulos on 027 702 0850.
