Categories: News

DNA technology protects school property

&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-1572" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;06&sol;SND16-wk3-DNA&lowbar;Technology&period;jpg" alt&equals;"SND16-wk3-DNA Technology" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"200" &sol;>West Auckland schools are being given the benefit of DNA technology to protect property in a unique partnership between BNZ&comma; the Ministry of Education&comma; New Zealand Police&comma; Crimestoppers and SelectaDNA&period; <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The BNZ Safer Schools programme&comma; coupled with other policing activities&comma; has helped contribute to a 38 per cent reduction in school burglaries since 2010 in participating schools&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Over the next two years&comma; all New Zealand schools will receive a BNZ Safer Schools Pack that includes a forensic property- marking product called SelectaDNA&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>SelectaDNA is a theft deterrent system proven to help reduce burglaries&period; It is a non-toxic&comma; water-based solution product that can be applied to items like laptops&comma; tablets and sporting equipment&comma; as a property marker&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Objects marked with SelectaDNA glow bright blue when placed under UV light&comma; making it easier to identify and link a stolen item to where it was taken from&comma; and in some cases&comma; return the items&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>BNZ&&num;8217&semi;s head of enterprise security Owen Loeffellechner says the key to the programme is deterrence&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s a lot more effective to discourage burglary from happening at all&comma; he says&period; Replacing items costs time&comma; effort and money &&num;8211&semi; all of which could be better spent elsewhere&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;When items like laptops and tablets are taken from schools&comma; it can have a pretty big impact&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s not just the financial cost&comma; but also the loss of material that reflects a significant work investment by students and teachers&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Superintendent Bill Searle&comma; District Commander&comma; Waitemata Police said&colon; &&num;8220&semi;Safer communities together is about everyone working together to prevent crime from occurring in the first place&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;This initiative encompasses that and contributes to preventing crime&period; For us that also means less victims and that can only be a good thing&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Local schools will head along to BNZ&&num;8217&semi;s Henderson Business Centre today to view the Safer Schools programme showcase&comma; and collect their introductory SelectaDNA kit&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Property marking kits will be distributed to schools unable to attend the event in the weeks following&period;<&sol;p><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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Rosie Clarke

Rosie is the managing editor here at Multimedia Pty Ltd, working across School News New Zealand and School News Australia. She has spent 10+ years in B2B journalism, and has spent some time over the last couple of years teaching as a sessional academic. Feel free to contact her at any time with editorial or magazine content enquiries.

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