An innovative forensic property-marking system to help reduce burglary across Ealing is being rolled out.

As of Monday (June 15) the Safer Neighbourhood Teams will deliver around 9,000 kits to residents in burglary hot-spots across the borough, while answering questions and providing crime prevention advice.

Ealing Superintendent for Neighbourhoods and Operations, Colin Wingrove, said: "MetTrace in partnership with SmartWater is a fantastic free product that is proven to deter burglars and offer residents a practical way to protect their property. Our officers will be personally visiting all of these homes to help sign people up and offer advice.

“This builds on the excellent work with Ealing Council to reduce burglary, and we are pleased they are supporting this new initiative.

“Our aim is to create a hostile environment for burglars as we work hard to catch and convict offenders, as well as prevent crime before it happens. MetTrace will help make Ealing a safe and secure borough for residents, businesses and visitors."

The new MetTrace programme, in partnership with SmartWater, will see 440,000 London homes in burglary hot spots receive a free kit to protect their property.

The kits contain an invisible property-marking solution, allowing owners to mark their possessions with a unique forensic code and to display warning stickers to deter burglars.

This code can then be used by the police to trace the items should they ever be stolen and to link suspects to crime scenes.

SmartWater, the solution, is virtually impossible to remove and can only be viewed under UV light.

During a recent Met trial across five boroughs, burglary rates reduced on average by 49%, with some areas seeing a reduction of more than 70%.

More than half of residents involved in the pilot said they felt safer after they applied the liquid to items in their homes.

All 32 Met boroughs will begin to receive kits over the next eight months and in total 440,000 kits will be distributed over the next three years.