Police disappointed over loss of dots

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A government decision to scrap the introduction of vehicle-marking technology was short sighted and ill conceived, a police expert says.

Whole of vehicle marking (WOVM) involves spraying cars with thousands of micro dots.

The dots can be seen with specialist equipment, are almost impossible to remove and identify and mean car parts can be traced to their owners.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce announced that the scheme would not go ahead because it would impose extra costs on consumers at an already difficult economic time.

Senior Constable Mark Gibson, a former motor vehicle theft expert with the Organised Crime Unit, said WOVM was the "best crime-fighting tool" police had had to deal with stolen vehicles.

"And now we find out it's not a goer. . . I am gutted," he told the Police News magazine.

He said the dots would eventually save police a lot of time and resources and could one day be used to identify anything valuable.

"A lot of vehicles are coming into the county with immobilisers, and that is excellent, but the organised crooks aren't stupid."

He said they would burgle a house with a car in the driveway and find the keys inside – "they steal them and then the car is gone, immobiliser or not".

DataDot Technology (DDT) New Zealand, which has the WOVM patent, said similar technology was used by spies during World War 2 and the cold war.

Managing director David Lumsden said overseas statistics showed WOVM had significantly reduced car theft.

The previous Labour government announced the introduction of WOVM technology.

-NZPA