SmartWater is a liquid, which is not visible to the naked
eye but shows up in ultraviolet light. It has been around for quite a while but
is now being used to combat domestic violence.
It has been used for years to protect property where someone
trying to carry out a burglary or robbery could be sprayed with it, and it
links them to the scene of the crime.
Its manufacturers say that it cannot be washed off and each
batch has its own unique forensic fingerprint so that a perpetrator sprayed
with it is linked specifically to the spray in that crime location rather than
anywhere else.
What is new is that it is ow being used by some UK police
forces in domestic violence cases. West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and
Staffordshire police are trialling giving it to the victims of domestic violence
to spray on parts of their homes, like door handles, and on their attackers if
they turn up at their address.
It is quite common for the perpetrators of domestic violence
to be issued with a Court order preventing them from approaching their victim
or their victim’s home. Unfortunately, it’s also quite common for perpetrators
to breach those sorts of orders and then the issue arises of proving that they
have done so. The perpetrator may deny that they were at the address then it
may be their victim’s word against theirs. CCTV sometimes does not help because
the quality can be poor, or someone can be wearing a balaclava or cap.
But if the perpetrator is sprayed with SmartWater or gets it
on their hands from a door handle then there is very strong evidence that they
were at the address that they should not have been at.
A man in Yorkshire was recently convicted in this way and
received a jail sentence.
It remains to be seen whether other police forces follow
this trial up and adopt the same approach. But it does seem to provide good
evidence, where showing that someone has been at a particular location is
important, and it may be another tool in the fight against domestic violence
and other crimes.
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