There’s nothing like an invisible weapon.
And that’s exactly what a SelectaDNA, a new DNA spray being used in select countries across the globe, is. The spray, developed by British company Selectamark, is simple. It is installed so that when robbers break into a store, employees can push a button that sprays it from a number of locations. The clear mist is so fine that those sprayed do not even feel it, but it stays on their skin and hair for weeks or even months. Thus, the criminals who commit the crime are “marked,” which certainly comes in handy down the line in court.
The spray, developed in 2008, is used across many European countries, and recently has been installed in New Zealand and Australia. According to AOLnews, Selectamark is in talks with US companies as well. Stores who use the spray display a sign in their front window that warns criminals, in various languages: “You steal, you’re marked.”
Andrew Marks, the managing director of Selectamark, explains how the spray cannot just be washed off. “It will come off within a number of hand washes,” says Marks. “But if you run through a spray it will accumulate in the inside of your nostrils and ears and under the fingernails; areas that are difficult to get off.”
That being said, the main purpose of the spray is actually not to be able to catch criminals more effectively; officials hope that, in the long run, this will prevent crime before it happens. And so far, so good. Between January and May of 2010, during Selectamark’s test run of the spray, crime in West London, where it was tested, fell off by 65%. And one can only imagine that, the more potential criminals hear about this technology, the less likely they will be to try to test it.
Innocent bystanders need not worry about the spray either. The spray cannot be used to identify a suspect, but rather it can only be used to as evidence for an already-existing suspect. And, we might add, it is pretty good evidence too.
According to Jason Brown, the business director of Selectamark, “The word DNA spreads fear into even the most hardened criminals.” We can only hope Brown is right. The early results, encouragingly, look good.
What do you think about this DNA spray: will it continue to work? Or will criminals find a way around it? Sound off in the comments below. And for more DNA information, please visit GTLDNA.com.
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