Download It is recommened that businesses mark and photograph all valuable

PROPERTY MARKING DETERRENT TO CRIMINALS
It is recommened that businesses mark and photograph all valuable
items. This will act as a deterrent to thieves and make it easier for items
to be returned if recovered after being stolen.
Property is easily and quickly marked at very little cost and there are a
range of techniques available including:

Forensic marking

Ultra-violet marking

Engraving

Ceramic marking

Etching
What details should be included in this marking?
Use the postcode of the building where the property is normally kept,
plus the building number or the first two letters of the name:

50 Acacia Drive S11 5XY becomes S115XY50

Peveril House YR5 6AB becomes YR56ABPE
FORENSIC MARKING
A colourless liquid can be applied to valuable items including computers
and electrical items. The solution gives the property a chemical code
which is unique to those items. It cannot be seen by the naked eye and
is very difficult to remove. The solution glows under ultra-violet light
enabling the police to detect it.
Forensic marking providers include:



SelectaDNA:
www.selectadna.co.uk
Smartwater:
www.smartwater.com
Red Web Technologies: www.redwebsecurity.com
All the above are accredited by Secured by Design (SbD) www.securedbydesign.com. SbD is an Association of Chief Police
Officers initiative which supports the principles of ‘designing out crime’
and provides a range of standards for security products.
South Yorkshire Police does not specifically endorse any of these
products - they are all equally effective.
 Ultra-violet (UV)
Permanent UV marker pens are available in many retail stores. The
marking is invisible until viewed under a UV lamp.
Strong sunlight can cause UV marking to fade so consider marking
the bottom of items or the most porous area and repeat the process
after approximately 18 months.
UV marking does not generally affect the re-sale value of items so it is
suitable for most items including electrical goods.
 Engraving
Identification marks can be engraved using a diamond-tipped pen,
other sharp tools or an electric engraver.
This technique is particularly useful for mechanical items, engines and
other heavy metal objects.
A certain level of skill is required to engrave neatly in order to maintain
the appearance of the item.
 Ceramic marking
As the name implies ceramic or titanium marking pens are designed
for ceramic surfaces. When finished the marking has the appearance
of faint pencil marks, which are impossible to remove without
damaging the surface.
 Etching
Chemical etching systems provide tamper resistant
adhesive stencils which include a unique serial
number linked to a database register of the property.
The tamper resistant stencil is attached to
the item and then an etching compound is
applied over the
cut outs. The compound reacts with the surface of the item
permanently marking it with the unique code and the database contact
number.
Companies provide a variety of stencil and warning labels and
different compounds for use on different surfaces.
REMINDER
A large range of property marking products are available.
Consider visiting www.securedbydesign.com for a description of
accredited products suitable for the specific needs of businesses.