Operation Shield fends off criminals

COMMUNITIES across Cheshire are clamouring to be part of Operation Shield – a police initiative to fend off criminals by protecting property with unique and traceable marking techniques.
Residents and businesses – including many from Warrington – are taking up the offer in growing numbers.
Operation Shield uses a forensic liquid containing DNA unique to each property. It can be used to mark belongings, allowing it to be returned to the owner no matter where it is recovered from.
Offenders committing crime can also find themselves marked with the forensic liquid – which stays on their hair, skin, and clothes and cannot be washed off.
Criminals will not be able to see it in normal light, but police are able to using UV light.
Every person arrested in Cheshire will be screened under a special ultra violet light in custody – if they have committed a crime in an
Operation Shield area, they will be marked, and the unique DNA will link them directly to the individual crime scene.
The Cheshire shield is encompasses schools, rural homes and businesses and more details are available at
http://www.cheshire.police.uk/about-us/campaigns-and-operations/operation-shield/
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Roberts said: “Putting a protective shield around homes and businesses and making life tough for the criminal is key to stopping those who believe they are entitled to help themselves to other people’s property.
“My message to these offenders is quite clear – you need to think about your actions as in Cheshire there is no easy option.
“Operation Shield is not just about placing a protective shield around our homes and places of
work, it is also about making its mark on those who profit from these crimes.  It is vital for us to be able to establish who owns what, and when you have forensic property marking in place it is easy for us to establish the rightful owners of that property.
“Criminals who make their living from breaking into homes and business and stealing other people’s possessions need to know that across Cheshire, Operation Shield will provide officers with essential evidence to bring criminals to justice.”
Operation Shield was launched in March – and that month saw the lowest figures for burglary in 25 years across the county.