Hello

At the start of the week, I held an event in conjunction with Checkatrade at the Wickes store in Hove to hand out free DNA toolkits to traders.

The forensic marking kits, developed by SelectaDNA, include a clear liquid made up of a unique synthetic DNA code and thousands of microscopic identification dots. Once applied to tools and equipment, the indelible liquid dries clear, cannot be scratched off and can only be identified through UV lights and specialist microscopes. Each tool or piece of equipment is then marked in a secure register so that, if theft occurs, police can identify the goods as stolen and reunite them with the owner.

The kits can mark up to 50 pieces of equipment and usually cost around £60 each. However, I am delighted to have funded 1,000 kits to hand out for free. You may recall reading in a previous newsletter that 500 of these kits are being given out by our specialist Rural Crime Team to protect farmer’s equipment.

At the event, we handed out over 120 free kits, meaning that up to 6,000 tools in the county can now be marked and therefore traced if theft were to occur.

Sussex Police also attended the event, reminding traders how to keep their equipment safe, including: parking vans in secure and well-lit locations; not leaving tools on show in vehicles and considering using signage; storing tools safely at night; parking vehicles so back or side doors cannot be accessed and to consider steering locks.

I'll be looking to host another one of these events later this year. If you or a tradesperson you know have tools you'd like to protect and you want a free kit - keep an eye on my newsletter and our social media pages.

You can read more about the day and watch a short video on  my website.

Have your say

I wanted the readers of my newsletter to be the first to know I have launched my annual summer survey.

The Safer In Sussex Survey seeks to understand if residents have experienced crime and looks at what measures would make them feel safer in their communities.

Responses to my survey help me to understand where resources within Sussex Police may be better placed, where increased partnership-working could help to drive down local issues and to scrutinise the force on areas requiring improvement.

In my previous surveys, anti-social behaviour (ASB) has been selected as one of the top concerns. After hearing your feedback and experiences with ASB, it was vital to me that the Sussex Immediate Justice (IJ) programme continued, despite funding for the programme being stopped by this government.

At the end of last year, our IJ programme, which sees offenders address and correct the harm they've caused, had more than 400 referrals and over 700 hours of reparative activity (like cleaning graffiti, clearing kerbsides and public spaces) had been carried out.

The programme was designed to give local people the confidence to report anti-social behaviour when they see it and to be reassured that there would be consequences for such offences. It was clear to me from your responses that this programme should not come to an abrupt end and is valued by everyone.

Please take a moment to give me your feedback by clicking this link.

You can also ‘opt in’ to being contacted in the future to have a more detailed say in a focus group run by my office.

Katy Bourne OBE
Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner