Burglaries

Hi everyone,

Tonight, with my laptop on the knees (on the lap), I watched "Capital" on M6.
The program was dealing with burglaries.

To make it short, the number rocketed in France but plummeted in the UK; the French police are behind while the British police are very active and efficient.

The solution used in the UK is named "Smart Water".
It was designed by a former policeman and a chemist. It consists in a liquid metallic compound.
- this product is invisible except under ultraviolets
- it doesn't dammage the object
- the client just spreads this liquid on objects they want to protect
- there's a coordination between the chemist and the police
- the compound is unique (in fact it's a mix of lots of metallic products and the mix is different for every product sold, hence a product leads to its owner (client) i.e. kinda barcode
- displaying that the product is in use in the house/district/city is enough to dissuade burglers
- every buyer of a used object has to check (under UVs) otherwise they would be complicit in the robbery

As we can read, the solution is very simple and cheap but the efficiency is mainly due to the organization in the UK.


I heard about this product a few years ago but I had forgotten. Did you know about the "Smart Water"?

No Gérard, I have never heard about "smart water". I have only heard about "Neighbours watch"
http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/neighbourhood-watch

Please consider joining your local Neighbourhood Watch. Neighbourhood Watch is all about people getting together with their neighbours to take action to cut crime.
How does Neighbourhood Watch work?
Neighbourhood Watch schemes are community initiatives owned and run by their members. They work by developing close liaison between neighbourhood households and the local police. It is an active partnership.

An English friend of mine has also joined it in her neighbourhood. "Smart water" combined with "neighbourhood Watch" could work wonders.

Hi Muriel,

Thanks for your message.

Yes, I heard about Neighboring Watch.

Here are 2 links re Smart Water:

-> Manufacturer's site

-> Wikipedia
Development of SmartWater was started in the mid-1990s by Phil Cleary,[8] a retired police detective and later CEO of SmartWater Ltd, and his brother Mike Cleary, a chemist.

As you can read, the solution is not recent, but designed in the 90s.

So easy solutions!! When will the French want to be efficient??

When will the French want to be efficient??

Hi Gérard, hi everyone.
I have been thinking about "Burglaries in England and in France" for a while. OK "smart water" is a very good device if all the French could spread this liquid on all the objects they want to protect. Is it possible to paint everything ?   Anyway it is easier to arrest a thief in England than in France. England is an island and France's  borders are like leaky sieves, letting everything through. How can we manage ? Perhaps we should use video surveillance system as the English do.

Yes: when will the French decide to be efficient?