NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The North Miami Beach Police Department will introduce a new type of crime fighting technology to members of a local neighborhood in an effort to help reduce property crimes and aid in the identification of criminals.
The department says the new theft deterrent technology called Smart Water CSI uses a forensically encoded liquid that homeowners or business owners can apply directly to their valuable property.
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The liquid, which authorities said is non-hazardous, is invisible to the human eye and once applied it is virtually impossible to remove, also leaves a long-lasting identifying forensic marking on the properties surface for up to five years.
The same technology can also be used to spray unwanted intruders upon activation of a specially designed security system also part of the Smart Water CSI technology system.
In order to visualize the liquid, officers who are provided with a handheld ultraviolet light can expose the property to the light, which police said then illuminates the encoded liquid.
Officers then collect a sample of the marking from the property using a sterile swab and submit it as evidence to the Smart Water forensic laboratories for evaluation.
The Smart Water team will then examine the submitted sample and be able to provide the registered user's information that is specific to the sample collected. The user's contact information is then given to North Miami Beach Police Detectives to assist in pairing the suspect, who the Smart Water was collected from, to the victim.
"North Miami Beach, known for welcoming cutting-edge technology, has a police chief who embraces this type of technology in the best interest of his community, and residents who demand a safe place to live while demonstrating a strong willingness to assist law enforcement to do their job," said Logan Pierson, President of Smart Water CSI. "Our thanks to Chief Gomer, Mayor Vallejo and City Manager Ana Garcia for allowing the North Miami Beach Police Department to be in the forefront of using the latest in crime fighting technology to better protect the citizens they serve."
Police said $25,000 in Smart Water technology will be invested in the department's crime prevention efforts. The Uleta section of North Miami Beach will be the focus of their pilot program as a result of a crime analysis of burglaries in the area.
The distribution of these kits and training of the selected residents on how to use them will be coordinated by the police department's Crime Prevention Unit.