Mark your prized possessions
Marking your property makes it easier for the police to trace and recover stolen items and prosecute offenders.
If you want to make the valuables in your home or outbuilding less attractive to thieves, use a police-approved property marking scheme to mark your items.
Seek specialist advice
Always seek specialist advice before marking valuable property, such as pieces of art or antiques, to prevent those items from being devalued.
Property marking options
Etching kits and tamper-resistant labels
Chemical etching is used to mark metal, aluminium, plastic and glass that may form part of a wide range of products such as TVs, laptops, cameras and digital tablets.
These kits contain unique stencils that carry the owner’s specific details, such as postcodes, house numbers or names, together with the etching compound and an application tool.
Care must be taken to make sure the instructions for application are carefully followed, as failure to do that may affect the warranty status of the item.
Tamper-resistant labels, such as barcodes, asset numbers or postcodes with house numbers or names, have a strong adhesive that makes them durable and difficult to remove.
Electronic tags
Electronic tagging involves devices that can be concealed in or on an item, such as inside or on a bike frame, that send electronic messages to a receiver.
The electronic message identifies the owner from information held on a secure central property register database.
Ultra-violent marker pens
Ultra-violet (UV) marker pens put fluorescent and transparent ink or paint onto your valuables which is only visible under an UV light.
Owners use the pens to mark their property with their postcode, house or flat number or the first three letters of your address.
It is a fast and inexpensive way to mark property, but the mark may fade relatively quickly and should be refreshed regularly to maintain its effectiveness.
Microdots
Microdots contain unique ID codes which are invisible to the naked eye and can only be read under magnification.
They can be applied covertly to your valuables, such as tools, bikes, devices, instruments and more.
Should any marked items get stolen, the marks are directly linked to the owner by reference to a secure central property register database.
Register your valuables
You can register your valuables free of charge using one of these accredited property databases:
Photos and receipts
Make sure you take photographs of your valuable items and try keep receipts in case you need to prove ownership of your property.
Proof of purchase and photos may be needed for both insurance purposes and to reclaim your valuables, if the police finds your stolen property.
Neighbourhood Watch Scheme
We have been committed to supporting Neighbourhood Watch throughout our force since its introduction in 1982.
Our local Neighbourhood Watch Schemes can help when you are on holiday by increasing the surveillance of your property and encouraging neighbours to report suspicious activity.
Find out more about Neighbourhood Watch.