UK: Network Rail in bid to outsmart yobs

[John Ashworth]

From The Railway Magazine, May 2011, p 10

UK: Network Rail in bid to outsmart yobs

Crime prevention and risk management specialist SmartWater Technology Ltd has signed a multi-million pound deal with Network Rail to protect the infrastructure of the West Coast Main Line.

The campaign marks the first time SmartWater's new forensic trap devices will be deployed to capture and convict persistent offenders.

Once activated, the non-hazardous devices douse offenders in a chemically coded liquid which will cover their skin, clothing and hair. This can be used to link them back to a particular crime scene, long after the offence has taken place.

These devices will be used in pre-defined hotspots on the WCML and [warning signs] will be posted.