After a year of extensive research and a formal European Tender process, Harrow Council will now offer SmartWater to all 85,000 houses and flats across the borough.
Householders mark their valuables with the solution which leaves an indelible and individual trace on valuables. It is almost impossible to remove and shows up under UV light – allowing police to conclusively establish where it was stolen from.
The marking of household valuables is just one aspect of the SmartWater campaign, which will be rolled out across the borough.
UV detection
Harrow Police are being equipped with UV detection equipment at no cost, whilst Harrow Council will partner with the police on separate covert operations to target persistent offenders.
These covert operations will deploy cutting-edge SmartWater spray systems which mark offenders’ skin, clothing and hair, linking them to a specific crime scene.
Whilst SmartWater has been used selectively in London, it is thought to be the first time a council in the capital has offered the system to all its residents.
London framework
The Harrow deal is part of a framework contract for the whole of London, which means other London boroughs will be able to offer SmartWater to their residents without having to go through the same bureaucratic and time consuming procurement process.
Now that Harrow Council have completed this process, other boroughs no longer have to invest the same time and resource, and the framework opens up the potential for a national framework agreement. This framework could potentially see SmartWater offered to 25 million households in the UK.
Cllr Susan Hall, deputy leader of Harrow Council, said: “Making this anti-theft system available to every household in Harrow sends the signal to burglars that picking on this borough could prove career limiting to you.
“The investment in this product is a substantial one. But our residents quite rightly demand safe streets, and we are confident that offering this anti-burglar system to every home will help to deliver that.”
SmartWater chief executive, Phil Cleary, said: “We are delighted to be working on this pioneering partnership between Harrow Council, the local Police, and SmartWater which will bring real benefit to everyone across the borough.
“SmartWater has a proven track record for suppressing crime, is well known to the criminal fraternity, and will act as a powerful and longstanding criminal deterrent.”
