A UNIQUE dog – with a nose for trouble – is helping to recover stolen property in Warrington and across Cheshire
Jazz, a black Labrador, is working alongside police officers as part of Operation Shield – a forensic property marking initiative.
The specially trained sniffer dog searches out items marked with a unique DNA system to protect valuables – such as electrical items and jewellery. The system is unique to each address and helps to identify stolen items if they are recovered.
The operation is targeting those who commit theft and burglary. As part of the initiative around 1,000 property marking kits, which consist of a traceable liquid that residents can use to forensically mark valuables, have been delivered to homes in burglary hotspots across the county.
Sergeant Ian Wilson said: “Enlisting the help of the dog is another powerful tool in the fight against burglary and theft.
“Jazz has been specifically trained to pick up the scent of the forensic marking fluid and is currently the only dog in the world trained to do so.”
When suspected stolen property is recovered it can be analysed by taking a sample of the traceable liquid and the DNA code is then checked, which shows which property or business it is registered to.
Sgt Wilson added: “We recover a lot of items, which are believed to be stolen, but often struggle to reunite them with their owners simply because we have no way of knowing who they are. With this system your property can be traced back to you quickly and easily even if it is recovered from the other end of the country.”
