Burglary is a key crime of public concern, and the most
frequently committed crime in Australia. The latest statistics from the
Australian Institute of Criminology show that there are around 83,000
home and business thefts every month. That is 9 burglaries every hour.
The
cost to the New Zealand community of burglaries alone is over $20
million per month. We have one of the highest burglary rates per capita
in the world (see the statistics table from the United Nations 2000
International Crime Victims Survey).
For the homeowner or business owner,
theft on any scale is very serious. Too often family heirlooms and objects of personal
attachment are lost to thieves. Business theft is costly especially for
the small business owner, and often insurance cannot cover all costs. It
is often the associated problems caused by losses which can far exceed the
replacement cost of stolen assets (i.e. productivity downtime). In some
larger companies office theft can be so prolific replacement costs have to be
incorporated into budgets.
DataDot Technology Ltd (DDT) delivers a community-responsible theft
deterrent system that has won official regulatory support in several
jurisdictions.The Solution
The
 system is just like an advanced way of engraving your assets with your
name, but unlike engravings,
are almost impossible to remove of and don't 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
to suit your needs. Both the quantity of
in each batch and the laser-etched code on the
can
be varied. Your customised batch can be laser-etched with either:
a) The owners' drivers licence number;
b) passport number;
c) Medicare number;
d) a business registration or tax number;
e) a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) derived by DDT, or;
f) a unique name e.g. Blacktown High School.
A simple, effective Do-It-Yourself procedure has been developed to brush
on to assets. Hand applied
can also be carefully applied to covert, difficult to reach places. They
can be applied in as many places, and 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
,
they can never be confident they have removed every single one. And if
there is just one tiny
left, the police will know it is stolen. So what can a thief do? The only
solution is to avoid homes or place of work that have this protection.
Warning labels are placed on each of the assets and on points of entry to
your home or business, to warn thieves that all assets are protected.
The Results
is effective for the home, small business and large companies – just ask
the people that are already using it. The Australia Broadcasting
Corporation 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
,”
he said. “As these assets are below insurance excess it represents an
important recovery for the ABC.”
And it is not just the ABC 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. 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.” |
