Martin Underwood writes about the things that you can do to protect your home from burglars and contributes to Surveillance For Security The site that presents information about the best in home security systems, personal security and security for your family.
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Every police department recovers a large amount of stolen property, they would love to reunite that property with its rightful owners but unfortunately they often have no way to identify exactly who it is the items belong to.
However there are simple steps that you can take that, should you be unfortunate enough to have property stolen from you, will help the police in getting your stuff back to you as soon as possible.
Very few items are truly unique, works of art are an exception and a good photographic, or video, record of such items would help establish ownership. Most of the items that we possess though are not unique in that they have been mass-produced to some degree or other. What you need is a way of making those items unique in some way, so that they can be indisputably shown to belong to you. Security marking is the answer.
The simplest method of security marking is using an ultra-violet marker pen. This will place a mark on your property that is invisible in normal light but can be easily observed with the use of a special UV lamp. Then if your DVD player gets stolen it is easily identifiable as belonging to you.
It should be remembered that ultra violet marking does tend to fade after about a year and will need to be reapplied at that time. Ultra-violet marker pens along with advice as to how best to use them are often obtainable for free from your local police station.
A method that you can use for metal items, such as silverware, is engraving or etching. You will want to make the mark as small as possible to avoid disfiguring the item. Remember that engraving cannot be considered completely permanent because a thief can grind your security mark away.
A newer technique of security marking is Elemental Tagging (also known as Chemical Trace.) This method uses chemical compounds that are individually formulated for and registered to each individual customer. The virtually invisible compound can be painted on to the item and is detected under ultra violet light.
Electronic devices often have a way for you to record your details right in the memory. A Television may have a place to enter a code in that is displayed on the screen.
Punching is a popular way of permanently marking outside items and garden equipment such as lawn mowers. This marking method is achieved with a hammer and a set of punches to indent a code on the item.
After you have security marked your property it would be wise to make a list of where and how each item is marked, taking photographs of all your items could also prove invaluable. No matter how you security mark your items it is the only way you are likely to get recovered property returned to you so it is a precaution well worth taking.
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