Criminals are being showered with DNA as part of a controversial new security system being deployed in restaurants and offices. The fine spray, which is almost identical to human DNA, is activated whenever a robbery takes places and covers the suspects as they make their getaway. It can only be seen under UV light but contains markers that allow police to link the suspects to the scene of the crime upon arrest. One of the first cities to adopt it was Rotterdam in The Netherlands where detectives claim it has led to a significant drop in crime rates. But they also admit that dozens of innocent members of the public were covered with the DNA when it was set off unintentionally, even if they have not been accused of anything. Outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Rotterdam which uses the device sits the sign which police say acts as big deterrent to would-be burglars: ‘You steal, you’re marked’. The device, an orange box the size of a phone book, was installed following a string of burglaries in which left police scratching their heads about how they could stop them...(Daily Mail)Thursday 21 October 2010
McDonald's tracks burglars by spraying them with 'artificial DNA' as they make their getaway
Criminals are being showered with DNA as part of a controversial new security system being deployed in restaurants and offices. The fine spray, which is almost identical to human DNA, is activated whenever a robbery takes places and covers the suspects as they make their getaway. It can only be seen under UV light but contains markers that allow police to link the suspects to the scene of the crime upon arrest. One of the first cities to adopt it was Rotterdam in The Netherlands where detectives claim it has led to a significant drop in crime rates. But they also admit that dozens of innocent members of the public were covered with the DNA when it was set off unintentionally, even if they have not been accused of anything. Outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Rotterdam which uses the device sits the sign which police say acts as big deterrent to would-be burglars: ‘You steal, you’re marked’. The device, an orange box the size of a phone book, was installed following a string of burglaries in which left police scratching their heads about how they could stop them...(Daily Mail)