The invisible markers link criminals to crime scenes and their use has helped reduce the number of incidents by more than 30 per cent across the UK last year.
The overall reduction was achieved by a wide range of anti-theft measures including coating miles of underground cables with a synthetic DNA and UV tracer, called SelectaDNA.
SelectaDNA is now widely used across the Openreach network and easily transfers to hands (main image) and clothing. It recently helped secure three convictions in Lincolnshire, including a 16-month prison sentence for attempted theft.
Richard Ginnaw, head of security services, Openreach, explained, “Cable thefts are hugely disruptive. The loss of phone and broadband is not only inconvenient but can put vulnerable people at risk. Repair work also pulls our engineers away from other work, can take weeks to finish, and costs thousands of pounds.
“We take the security of our network seriously and have a wide range of crime prevention tools to prevent thefts and catch those responsible. Our dedicated security team investigates all attacks and our network is alarmed and monitored 24/7 by our control centre.
“SelectaDNA is proving to be one of the best. We can put it on equipment throughout the Openreach network and it works by leaving a unique DNA trace on people and vehicles that have contact with it.
“We really hope criminals will take note of this new crime-fighting tool and continue to think twice before deciding to target Openreach’s network.”
Openreach works closely with local police, Crimestoppers, the National Crime Agency, British Transport Police and Network Rail to help reduce criminal attacks on infrastructure.