Petrol station offenders take ‘DNA’ away from forecourts

Petrol forecourt intruders at Texaco petrol stations face being sprayed with a unique red die, providing forensic evidence linking them to the scene of the crime.

Texaco petrol stations in Hertfordshire, Essex and London have installed a system which sprays the bright red staining dye that contains a non-washable unique DNA code. This provides police with irrefutable evidence to visibly identify the criminals and prove their presence at the scene of crime.

The company, RedWeb, have been working with the forces to help deliver the initiative. The highly visible forensic dye contains a unique biosynthetic ‘DNA tag`.

Hertfordshire Head of Scenes of Crime, Doug Bain, said: “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work with the company over the past year to establish this initiative. With this product, not only do offenders leave something at the scene, they now take something away with them. We look forward to a successful and continuing partnership aimed at targeting forecourt crime in Hertfordshire.”

Mr Bain added: “The red die can be activated in a number of ways either by the premises being intruded upon or an individual who may be the victim of an attack.”

Mark Bradshaw, Founder and Chief Executive of Garage Watch said: “We are happy to see this new initiative which is hoped will greatly reduce the volume of crime that affects our members. We intend to monitor the results and keep our membership informed.”

Garage Watch spokesman, Kevin Couchman, who is responsible for the petrol stations across the South East of England said where the device is deployed, staff feel much safer and less vulnerable.

He added: “We are delighted with this initiative and the deterrent window displays have already caused quite a stir, our staff are feeling less vulnerable and we hope our customers will feel even safer. The burden of crime is expensive and we have many other security measures that have not made such an impact.”

According to industry statistics, in 2005 the forecourt industry losses totalled £26.2 million with 14 per cent of petrol stations experiencing incidents of physical violence, robbery and a rise in gun related incidents.

Jonnie Davis, Managing Director, RedWeb, said: “We know from previous experience with our system alarms that the deterrent of being caught removes the attraction for criminals. Everybody involved wins, the business, the police and the customers.”