The Problem
According to statistics from the United Nations International Crime Victimization Survey, burglary is said to account for 11% of all crimes committed globally - a growing concern in any city.
For the homeowner or business owner, theft of any scale is not something that one should have to get used to.
Too often family heirlooms and objects of personal attachment are lost to thieves. And business theft is costly especially for the small business owner. To make matters worse, insurance is rarely able to cover all costs. Very often, the associated problems caused by losses far exceed the replacement cost of stolen assets (i.e. productivity downtime). In some larger companies office theft can be so prolific that replacement costs have to be incorporated into budgets.
From DataDot Technology Ltd comes a community-responsible theft deterrent system that has won official regulatory support in several jurisdictions.
A Practical Solution
Packaged and customised for protecting personal and business assets, a DataDot DNA Kit can be regarded as a high-tech futuristic method of engraving your assets with your name.
But, unlike engravings, it is almost impossible to remove and does not impact the appearance of an asset if correctly applied. They can be applied to almost anything including computers, stereos, jewellery, golf clubs, antiques, collectables and mobile phones. You can then keep track of which assets you have protected with using our Inventory software, that is included in each Kit.
For individuals, schools and business, we can customise a batch of DataDot DNA Kits to suit your needs. Both the quantity of DataDot DNA in each batch and the laser-etched code on the DataDot DNA can be varied. Your customised batch can be laser-etched with either:
- The owners’ drivers licence number;
- Passport number;
- Medi-care number;
- Social Security number;
- Business Registration or Tax Number;
- A unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) derived by DDT, or;
- A unique name e.g. Blacktown High School.
D-I-Y Deterrent
A simple and effective Do-It-Yourself procedure has been developed to brush DataDot DNA onto assets.
Hand applied DataDot DNA can also be carefully applied to covert and difficult to reach places. They can be applied in as many places, and as densely as you like. Thieves won’t know whether there is one, 101 or 1001 hiding on assets.
So even if they try to remove all the DataDot DNA, they can never be confident that they have removed every single one. And all it takes is just one tiny DataDot DNA left to identify a DataDot DNA marked stolen item. By placing DataDot DNA warning labels on each of the assets and on points of entry to your home or business thieves will be deterred to pick you or your business to vandalize.
Proven Results
DataDot DNA is effective for the home, small business and large companies – just ask the people that are already using it.
The Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was one of the first agencies to sign on to the system in 2000. Their Risk and Asset Manager, Laurie Treloar, had identified a need to protect computer equipment such as laptops, which are attractive and easy to steal, together with a number of highly attractive mobile broadcasting assets. He prepared a business case that showed the cost of protecting 17,000 assets with would be recouped if they prevented the theft of – or enabled the recovery of – just eight or ten expensive assets like laptops.
“In addition to providing a psychological barrier to the theft of assets, the strategy has indeed paid for itself with the return of a number of assets by the police, tracing the assets back to the ABC via the DataDot DNA,” he said. “As these assets are below insurance excess it represents an important recovery for the ABC.”
And ABC isn’t the only one who is seeing results. In a six month trial of in 40 Australian schools, school property theft was reduced by 89% - an average saving of A$6000 at every school.
As a result, all schools in the state if New South Wales were then given the opportunity to use the technology. All valuable and portable school equipment including computers, VCRs, televisions, mobile phones, cameras, tools and art work were “DataDotted”. Even the school lawn mowers were protected.
The then Minister for Education & Training, John Aquilina, was very pleased with the results. “For an investment of A$70, schools can mark up to 1000 items with a serial number,” he said. “The message to would-be offenders is clear. Don’t try it, you’re being watched and you will get caught.” The system has significantly driven down the incidence and cost of theft, vandalism and arson in NSW schools.