POWER tools worth around £800 have been recovered by police, thanks to West Mercia Police and a forensic marking system.
Redditch Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) say the tools were made ‘too hot to handle’ after being marked with a system recommended by the Secured by Design website and approved by the force.
Officers believe the thieves dumped their stolen goods knowing they were marked which, officers say, shows it is worth other tradespeople doing the same.
PC Mike Roberts, Rural, Business and We Don’t Buy Crime Officer, said: “These tools were marked with a data tag forensic marking system recommended on our Secured by Design website.
“This allowed officers from the business and rural crime team to examine the tools and successfully identify the owner.
“They were subsequently linked to a theft in Redditch where they had been stolen from a vehicle.
“It is likely the action of marking the tools with data tag resulted in the thief dumping them as they knew they’d be ‘too hot to handle’.”
PC Roberts labelled it ‘a great result in the war on acquisitive crime’, adding the combination of crime prevention measures, an observant member of the public and use of specialist police training enabled the tools to be returned to the rightful owner – a great result in the war on acquisitive crime.
West Mercia Police has urged traders to mark their tools and property to deter criminals and assist officers in getting property back when it is found or recovered.
