Officers in London's Metropolitan Police will be provided with tagging sprays, to be fired at phone thieves. This has the potential to mark them for months after the crime, reported Metro.
The sprays will be provided to officers in the Waterloo & Southbank Neighbourhood Team.
The spray technology was produced by forensic marking company SelectaDNA, and can be aimed by officers at moped-driving phone snatchers.
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."
SelectaDNA provides Metropolitan Police with phone-theft tagging spray
