Schools get high-tech anti-theft kits

Schools in parts of Waikato and Auckland are to get forensic marking kits that have shown to result in marked reductions in burglaries.

The SelectaDNA kits are being issued to 275 Waikato schools and 30 schools in Manurewa in south Auckland from this week.

SelectaDNA NZ Ltd director David Morrissey said today that he hoped corporate funding would be available to make the kits available nationwide.

The kits each contain a solution with its own synthetic DNA code and can be used for marking property, be it computers, trophies, musical instruments or stationery.

While the markings are invisible in normal light, they can be detected under ultra violet rays.

Mr Morrissey said a six-month trial in the Manurewa suburb of Randwick Park last year produced a 60 percent drop in burglaries in 1000 homes, businesses and schools in the trial area.

For the three schools that took part, there were no burglaries at all during the period.

The kits, which cost $100 each and contain warning stickers that can be put on windows, have since been introduced in Rotorua schools, where thefts dropped by 45 percent in the first six months.

Counties Manukau central area commander Inspector Alan Shearer described the Manurewa initiative, which is being conducted in partnership with Manukau City Council, as a containing powerful crime prevention message.

He said school equipment was now marked and the items were no longer sellable.

Police have also backed the Bank of New Zealand-sponsored initiative in Waikato.

Assistant Commissioner Allan Boreham said schools were frequently targets for opportunistic burglars.

"The DNA marking gives us the power to link offenders to the scene of the crime and adds to the strength of evidence, ultimately leading to a successful conviction."

- NZPA