From Wednesday, September 28, 2005 the city's force will use new Smartwater technology to trace and convict thieves, using the latest forensic evidence techniques.

Police have spent £27,000 on introducing the unique marking system that can conclusively link a suspect to a crime scene and help to find the owner of stolen goods.

A police team will use the liquid to mark property at 2,000 York households that have repeatedly been targeted by burglars.

Chief Superintendent Tim Madgwick said: "Smartwater is a forensic miracle. In every case where it has been used as evidence in court, a conviction has ensued.

"Essentially, it is a dream come true for the police forces, and the criminal's worst nightmare.

"There are many instances currently when a burglar or a thief gets away with it due to a lack of evidence, but Smartwater eliminates all traces of doubt."

So far in forces around the country the product has had a dramatic effect. In Nottingham its introduction has led to a 95 per cent reduction in repeat burglaries, in the West Midlands a 74 per cent drop in burglaries and in Oldham a 64 per cent fall.

Over 400 criminals have been brought to court thanks to Smartwater with a 100 per cent conviction rate.

Now every suspect arrested by York police will be scanned under an ultraviolet (UV) light when they are taken into custody at Fulford police station.

If they have been in contact with an item marked with the indelible Smartwater, it will show up under the light.

Second-hand dealers and individual police officers have also been issued with UV lamps to stop the flow of stolen goods.

Each batch of the liquid has a distinctive chemical code that can be entered on a national register and used by police to return stolen property.

Inspector Colin Moreton said: "It's another tool in our armoury and hopefully we are going to take the war to them."

He said the force will also be laying "rat traps" - cars with expensive goods left on display - to tempt opportunist thieves, who will then be sprayed with the liquid.

"We will be aiming to use them in the York and Selby area and they will be deployed in both of those areas as from tomorrow," he said. "We have the equipment and we are ready to launch it."

Last year there were 1,116 burglaries in the York and Selby area.

Jane Mowat, director of the Safer York Partnership, said: "Burglary and vehicle crime are two key areas in the current Community Safety Plan and I have no doubt that Smartwater will make a significant impact as it has elsewhere in the country."

Its manufacturers say Smartwater can last up to 100 years, as long as it is not painted on a smooth object. It works by drying in the microscopic cracks and abrasions on the surface of an item. The system costs householders from £3.50 a month for a supply of home coding equipment and entry into a national database.

How Smartwater works to beat crime

Smartwater is a clear, permanent liquid that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Each batch has a unique chemical code.

A user brushes it on to their property - from iPods and mobile phones to motor bikes or cars - so that the goods become identifiable by the code.

They then supply their name and code to the National Security Register, which logs the details on a countrywide database. If the items are stolen, the indelible liquid will rub off on to a thief's skin or clothes and will become visible under ultraviolet (UV) light.

Police can then use the unique chemical code to prove the thief was in contact with those items.

If the goods are then recovered a forensic team can read the chemical code from the Smartwater and return the goods to their owner.

Updated: 08:47 Thursday, September 29, 2005