DNA 'tagging' powder combats unwanted intrusions

Get i-powdered, go to jail

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 25th July 2005 09:29 GMT

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A UK firm has developed a DNA "tagging" product which it reckons will see Britain's jails packed to bursting with those burglars foolish enough to mess with Redweb Security's biosyntethic "i-powder".

The concept is pretty simple. The "i-powder", which carries a "uniquely-traceable DNA code" registered to the owner, is projected onto the perpetrator from a device which can be mounted in the ceiling, front door or on the wall. The powder - suspended in a red dye - sticks like glue to clothes and skin and cannot be removed for several weeks, allowing the long arm of the law to do a bit of collar feeling.

Redweb supremo Clive Smith explained: "The key feature of our technology is that it irrefutably identifies a criminal with the scence of the crime. Each device containing i-powder is registered either to its owner or a precise location, and the unique DNA code contained within the substance remains detectable for several weeks. In this way, RedWeb presents law enforcement agencies with a weight of forensic evidence to assist in securing a conviction."

Indeed, according to law enforcement agencies (aka police) in north Wales, Dorset and London, trials have resulted in a 100 per cent conviction rate, reports the Telegraph.

The i-powder deterrent is at present being marketed to the retail industry, but Redweb has a front-door-mounted domestic application in the pipeline, aimed at "protecting vulnerable people".

Good plan. For those of us who are less vulnerable, though, we suggest a "top-up" system utilising personal DNA which involves punching the i-powdered rascal in the chops, and then spitting and urinating on him until law enforcement operatives attend the scene - usually within 8-10 hours, Gatso duties permitting. ®