Mistguard cannister

New anti-theft system could be key in fight against raids on watch retailers

A new DNA anti-theft system designed to deter thieves has been hailed a success by one of the first companies to have it installed.

Mistguard, developed by SeekerDNA, was installed at the Old Mill Antiques Centre in Bridgnorth, Shropshire and its owner is convinced it has helped prevent crime.

John Ridgway, director of the centre says he has no doubt that the system has prevented burglaries.

Raids on retailers across the UK have been common over the past 12 months.

In March of this year an armed robbery took place at the Flagship Watches of Switzerland store at 155 Regent Street in London. Just three weeks after that incident another armed gang, this time on mopeds, attacked Watches of Switzerland on Oxford Street.

The new system is hoped to be the solution that could prevent criminals from being tempted to target luxury high street retailers.

He said: “Before Mistguard was in place we were the target of two major burglaries within the space of several months. We lost thousands of pounds worth of jewellery and the fact that we had CCTV monitors didn’t seem to deter the thieves at all. Now our buildings are clearly marked as Mistguard protected, potential thieves seem to have realised that on entering our premises they will be marked by DNA mist, and anything they steal will be invisibly marked too.”

Mistguard employs a UV-DNA impregnated misting system which can be manually activated or linked to an existing alarm system.

Steve Laugharne of SeekerDNA, said: “Mistguard is an intruder deterrent and marking system using unique, traceable synthetic DNA and UV markers. When activated, an ultra-fine mist is released which marks both thieves and property and irrefutably links perpetrators to the crime. In cases where the use of this synthetic DNA evidence has been available, it has led to a one hundred per cent conviction rate.”

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