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8 Law Enforcement Technology March 2014 www.officer.com TECH ON PATROL A new wave of forensic asset marking and crime deterrent systems are now available to law enforcement agencies in the United States. Property officers can say goodbye to overcrowded property rooms. Suspects can be connected to crimes and crime scenes. Burglary victims can be reunited with their property. While the delivery systems of the following companies' products are somewhat similar in that they're primarily water-based solutions, the forensic codes they contain are vastly different. Connecting the dots Microdot technology has been around since the time between World Wars I and II. During WWII, it was used as a tool for delivering classified messages. Special cameras reduced printed mes- sages to microscopic size, enabling the messages' inconspicuous transport. Modern microdot technology has been used overseas for about 15 years, as a tool to identify property, deter theft and convict thieves. Tiny aluminum or polymer sub- strate discs (depending upon which company's microdots you're using), about a millimeter or less in size, are inscribed with a unique serial number or PIN code, which is registered to the property owner on a secure database. The discs are suspended in a water- based adhesive solution, which is then brushed, sprayed, or drawn with a special pen, onto the property. The adhesive is only visible under ultraviolet light, and the dots are so small, they're virtually invisible to the naked eye. Law enforcement officials can take a swab of the fluorescent solution, send it to the company's forensic lab which will identify the owner, and the property can be returned to its rightful place. CopDots president, Shawn Andreas, says the first company to successfully transform the technology for com- mercial use was DataDot Technology, Ltd., an Australian company with which CopDots has a relationship. Andreas explains that more than 15 years ago, when DataDot Technology launched, Australia's vehicle theft rate was unusu- ally high. In 2002, the government adopted legislation which mandated that all motor vehicles be sprayed with forensics Fighting crime with By Melina Moraga Some new forensic tools are using water-based solutions to help smooth the process of solving property thefts. LET_08-14_CopDots0314.indd 8 2/24/14 10:40 AM