SmartWater hi-tech forensic solution paints burglars into a corner

It is burglar catnip: a large, unoccupied home late at night, with iPads and laptops strewn temptingly around. Sure enough, one man did break in exactly as the police had planned. Arrested, he protested his innocence, at least until police shined a black light in his direction and he glowed like a neon-yellow beacon. The bait he had lifted was boobytrapped. Motion-activated sensors, triggered as he entered, also sprayed an invisible, UV-detectable mist on to his clothes and skin that was water resistant enough to survive for weeks. It contained markers unique to the location, which allowed police forensics to place him decisively at the scene. The electronic gadgets he had taken were also dabbed with the same solution. His subsequent conviction was seamless. This was no episode of CSI, though: the sting took place in the British city of Nottingham, one of several trials undertaken as proof of concept by the UK-based security firm, SmartWater. Bleach “Criminals hate traceability, or anything that’s trackable,”said the former policeman and company co-founder Phil Cleary. His scientist brother developed SmartWater’s proprietary technology, like ink packets in bank heists, but invisible. “We’ve had them attack our solution with bleach or acid, and they still can’t remove it.” Less unwieldy and less obvious than microchips, SmartWater can be daubed on almost anything, from rings to golf clubs. Each client’s solution contains its own DNA-like synthetic code, which can then prove ownership on any single recovered item; SmartWater stores up to 10 registered items in its central database for US$5 a month. Buttress this property-protecting approach with a motion-triggered spritzing system, perhaps when a stable gate opens unexpectedly or a garage door, from around $2,000 per installation. Futuristic The firm’s main goal is to offer a deterrent: burglars are likely to avoid homes that display SmartWater signs, indicating the traceability of the goods within. Mr Cleary works closely with local police forces on detection technology, supplying whatever is needed, such as those black-light detectors, to test for its markers. So far, he said, 1.5 million homes in the United Kindom are SmartWater-equipped, including almost 500,000 in London; on average, he said, in areas where its signs are prominently displayed, burglary drops by 36 per cent. The next focus for his company is the US: pilot schemes in 40 cities across South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, proved so successful that last week Mr Cleary announced a major partnership with Washington’s police force that aims to protect 10,000 homes over the next 12 months. A rival company, SelectaDNA, offering a similar service has secured ongoing trials with the Los Angeles Police Department; a six-month run in Knoxville, Tennesee. reduced crime in the area by 70 per cent, according to its US distributor Kristian Brandt. Soup-thick fog Such DNA-driven crime fighting might seem futuristic, but it forms part of a slew of new high-tech security tools that allow the wealthy to stealthily safeguard their homes, possessions and persons. Take Smoke Cloak, a device not much larger than an old fashioned videocassette recorder. Modelled after theatrical smoke machines, it uses a built-in heating element to create soup-thick fog whenever a motion sensor is triggered. The goal: simultaneously slow down any intruder, allowing the police time to arrive and arrest one, or enabling homeowner and family to safely reach a panic room while spraying the intruder with traceable elements. There are a range of other hi-tech approaches to safeguarding valuables – and people. The two-year old car maker Ares, with showrooms in Dubai, Cannes, London, Los Angeles and Munich, is run by the Lotus and Ferrari alum Dany Bahar. His firm can custom-build vehicles sleek enough to impress discerning petrol-heads while being as bulletproof as a Humvee; costs range up to $1.2 million per vehicle. The infrared-sensing cameras produced by FLIR are so sensitive they can read the heat signatures of humans, far brighter than animals, up to nine miles away. Many of these new services are being developed in the UK, largely thanks to London’s role as the residential hub for ultra-high-net-worth individuals from across the world, not to mention its ingrained surveillance culture. Risk Allcooper is a London-based security firm that specialises in safeguarding the super-rich; the owner Gerard Cooper says his turnover has increased from £5 million (Dh22.8m) three years ago to £7m in 2016. “My typical client? Often someone with very new, very quick wealth, a football player who’s 18 and all of a sudden earning 100K a week, or a lottery winner, or someone from the X Factor,” he said. “If they’ve been on the front page of a newspaper, there’s a different risk level there.” The toughest brief, Mr Cooper said, involves couples. Often, one-half is keen to make security a priority, while the other wants to live as normal-seeming a life as possible. RFID chips offer a solution: Tag a stroller, for instance, and a gated entrance can swing open automatically after your morning walk. RFID chips have also become useful in protecting artwork, which is now an asset held by most 1 percenters. The short-range tag attaches to the back of any artwork via a special adhesive that does not leave permanent marks. Each tag has a built-in accelerometer similar to the one that changes a smartphone’s screen from vertical display to horizontal; it triggers whenever the piece moves, however slightly. Amazing Mr Cooper laughed as he recalled the bonus benefit of a recent art-protecting programme. One security team never knew when the client would get up in the morning, so they found it difficulty to ready his car, at least until a painting by the bathroom door was RFID-chipped. When the client reached and shut the bathroom for the first time in the morning, the painting would shudder slightly, triggering an alarm that allowed his security detail to rev up the car. “The guys said, ‘This boss thinks we’re amazing, because now we’re always ready when he gets up.’” * Bloomberg business@thenational.ae Follow The National's Business section on Twitter

SmartWater hi-tech forensic solution paints burglars into a corner

A UK company has developed a smart way to trace thieves who unwittingly get sprayed with an invisible substance that cannot be removed and ties them to the scene of the crime.