THE Safer Neighbourhoods team of Bryanston and Dorset Square in London have been involved in a joint initiative with Westminster Council's Neighbourhood Crime Reduction team, to eliminate burglaries on their ward.
Under the ‘Street a Week’ initiative, the team will be visiting Knox Street, Enford Street, Wyndham Street and parts of York Street to give out crime prevention advice and SelectaDNA property marking kits.
The ‘Street a Week’ initiative involves visiting one street (or streets) each week in the ward to engage with the local community and offer crime prevention advice and support.
The reason behind the initiative was a rise in burglary on the Bryanston and Dorset ward between January 2012 and June 2012 (an increase of 35% compared to the same period last year) and the current activity has already been successful in reducing burglary within the area.
Sgt Chris Wilson of the Bryanston and Dorset Square SNT said: “We began the ‘Street a Week’ initiative at the beginning of July. It consists of providing whole streets at a time with comprehensive written crime prevention advice and following up later in the same week with personalised crime prevention advice."
"To date no burglary has been committed in a street that has had the benefit of a ‘Street a Week’ visit. It is the intention of Bryanston and Dorset Square SNT to continue this initiative until all streets on the ward have been visited."
Sgt Wilson continued: "One of the items we are handing out is the SelectaDNA kits, manufactured by Selectamark Ltd. These kits are a very efficient and robust way of permanently marking and registering property which enables police to rapidly identify and return stolen property.
“The more significant aspect of these kits is that thieves are aware of the qualities of SelectaDNA and avoid stealing items marked with such a product. Thus the deployment of SelectaDNA will do much to prevent crime within Bryanston and Dorset Square Ward.”
SelectaDNA is a liquid which contains a unique DNA code registered to a specific property. It can be easily applied to personal possessions including TVs, jewellery, bikes, garden tools and other expensive goods. The product is almost invisible when applied and does not damage valuable property in any way.
The SelectaDNA kits are being funded through a partnership agreement with Westminster Council who are as committed as the Metropolitan Police to reducing crime and ensuring that Westminster is a safe place to live and visit.
Councillor Nickie Aiken, cabinet member for Children, Young People and Community Protection said: “Being the victim of a burglary is traumatic for everyone, but marking your property with a system like this at least improves the chances of recovering your property. There is also a deterrent value to thieves in making it clear your valuables have been marked.”
The ‘Street a Week’ initiative is having the desired affect in deterring criminals from the Bryanston and Dorset Square area and a reduction in burglary offences has been seen already.
Back to 2012 News Stories
