Firearms Smart Water Kit

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Pete
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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#31 Post by Pete »

Smartwater has a chemical fingerprint, a bit like DNA.......it's not just a case of spotting it with a UV light.
The UV light just shows where it is, the embedded code can be traced back to the purchaser (if it's registered when purchased).
Check it out on Wiki.

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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#32 Post by Maggot »

It is one of many taggants such as ADNAS and SELECTA DNA. Smartwater is purely chemical created by adding complex combinations of signature chemicals making each batch unique. They keep a control sample against what is sent out. The marking kits are just a small part of the whole system. They back up each kit with analysis of the recovered product which takes a tiny amount to get a conviction. Having seen this process working it was impressive but there are all manner of taggents available for different applications and purposes, the most public being index sprays or transferable greases. Some other taggents use microscopic numbered tags suspended in whatever medium is used, some use biological yeast based DNA type markers, but they all do broadly the same thing.

The marking kits are best applied where the taggent will not be easily rubbed off or attacked by solvents, oils etc. I have put it into hollows on stocks, hex bolt heads, under scope turret caps.

That said one of smartwater's tactics from day 1 has been deterrent by publicity, so while SOC will look for it on recovered property, so will the crims. Originally it did not show well unless you used a specific UV frequency.

Use it if you have it, and make sure the stickers are visible. I am not sure how this works in transit where they are most vulnerable....your call.

Dont forget that these are registered back to the originator, so if you sell the gear on and it gets nicked.....
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Blackstuff
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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#33 Post by Blackstuff »

I've always wondered with this sort of thing what happens when you sell it? I know Smart Water is effectively a subscription service (or it used to be), so do you have to compile a list of items you've marked and send it to them and then revise it once things are sold or what?
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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#34 Post by saddler »

The official BASC response is quite good.
Breaches of Data Protection Act mentioned along with several other possible areas where the Met have fallen short here.
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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#35 Post by RDC »

saddler wrote:The official BASC response is quite good.
Breaches of Data Protection Act mentioned along with several other possible areas where the Met have fallen short here.
Meanwhile, the NRA are quite heavily defending the Met on Facebook. No surprises there when it turns out they have (according to themselves) been working closely with the Met on a number of things.
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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#36 Post by Polchraine »

saddler wrote:The official BASC response is quite good.
Breaches of Data Protection Act mentioned along with several other possible areas where the Met have fallen short here.

Do you have a link to their formal statement?

The BASC website has been responding with:
Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.
since early this morning.


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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#37 Post by daman »

Just a heads up for anyone who tries it... a local copper gave us a free sample recently and advised us to mark any valuables as there have been several breakins locally.

Like a muppet, I believed it was going to be "almost invisible" and merrily dabbed it on laptop, tv, amps etc.

The house now looks as if we've been invaded by an army of snails who've left shiny trails all over the place. Grrrr.
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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#38 Post by TattooedGun »

Haha... free sample...
Now if your house gets burgled and they recover it, It'll go back to him because it'll be his chemical DNA code...

/cynic

/halfserious
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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#39 Post by saddler »

daman wrote:Just a heads up for anyone who tries it... a local copper gave us a free sample recently and advised us to mark any valuables as there have been several breakins locally.

Like a muppet, I believed it was going to be "almost invisible" and merrily dabbed it on laptop, tv, amps etc.

The house now looks as if we've been invaded by an army of snails who've left shiny trails all over the place. Grrrr.
Want all your most valued & prized possessions to look like centrepieces from a Smurf porn movie?
Not managed to pass off the Smurf Jizz look through your own endeavours??
Get ALL NEW Smart Water = you'd be dumb not to!!

Available from all Met police cars now. Just flag one down for a free sample....the blue flashing lights mean it's buy one get one free for the next five minutes only.
Not to be confused with tickets to policemens balls or Freemason raffles.
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Re: Firearms Smart Water Kit

#40 Post by JimJimmy »

Another heads up that the discounted kit doesn't include any window stickers, only surface stickers. This means any deterrent is somewhat limited. Surely the point would be to ward off burglars before they've broken unto your home, not after they've gained entry and found your cabinet covered in warning stickers!

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