The Metropolitan Police has rolled out its latest weapon in the fight against phone snatching.
Officers in the Waterloo & Southbank Neighbourhood Team will be provided with tagging sprays, which can be fired at phone thieves, marking them for potentially months after the crime.
Snatch thefts have increased by 150% in London over the last year, with one phone stolen in the capital every six minutes.
The spray technology, produced by forensic marking company SelectaDNA, can be aimed by officers at moped offenders.
The liquid marks the bikes, clothing, and skin of riders with a unique synthetic DNA, offering indisputable evidence linking the suspect to the crime.
When police shine UV lights on criminals or clothing stained by the solution, the liquid shows up in a clear fluorescent blue, according to SelectaDNA.
Waterloo & Southbank Neighbourhood Team secured funding from a Home Office project to acquire the spray guns.
The Met Police’s X account for north west Lambeth said: ‘This is part of our efforts to reduce and tackle phone snatchers across the area.
‘We will be making use of this in areas where phone snatches occur.
‘We will be able to tag suspects with unique identifiable liquid that stains the suspect’s skin and clothes and will allow us to link suspects to crimes.’
The new spray technology can also help police dogs find criminals.
Search dogs can be trained to detect the SelectaDNA forensic markers and the company has partnered with Search Dogs UK to assist UK police forces with this.
The Met Police have been ramping their focus on the rising tide of phone thefts.
A man and two teenage boys were sentenced in November for their roles in phone snatchings worth more than £20,000.
Commander Owain Richards, the lead for mobile phone thefts in London, said at the time: ‘We understand the impact of mobile phone theft can have on victims, it’s an invasive and sometimes violent crime – and we’re committed to protecting Londoners and tackling this issue as we make the capital safer.
‘We continue to use data and technology to build intelligence and track stolen items to target offenders.
‘We are also working with phone firms to ‘design out’ the ability for phones to be reused and sold on as we seek to dismantle the criminal market that fuels robbery and theft.
‘We encourage people to report as soon as they can whenever they have been a victim of mobile phone theft, so officers can investigate swiftly’.
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