Croxteth Park gets Smart against burglars

HUNDREDS of homes in Liverpool are getting a new hi-tech crime fighting weapon. The DNA style SmartWater is to be used at more than 400 properties on the Coachman’s Drive estate in Croxteth Park as part of a £160,000 scheme to help cut the number of burglaries.

SmartWater codes property with a forensic DNA style solution which is uniquely registered to the owner. It means criminals caught with the equipment can be linked back to the property, providing absolute proof of where it came from.

The housing estate has seen 10 burglaries, three robberies and a number of suspicious incidents so far this year, adding to the fear of crime in the area.

Councillor Marilyn Fielding, executive member for safer, stronger communities, said:- “Burglaries have a tremendous impact on people’s lives.

It is so upsetting and heartbreaking for people when a thief breaks into their own home and takes precious items which have sentimental value, or they have worked hard to buy.

SmartWatering hundreds of homes will provide a massive deterrent to burglars, and there is an excellent chance of them being convicted if caught.

This scheme will provide reassurance to people in the area and mean their property is safer as a result.”

Chief Inspector Paul Levick from Merseyside Police said:- “SmartWater is being used extensively across Merseyside and is supporting our efforts to tackle criminals head on, while supporting those in fear of crime.”

The £160,000 scheme has been supported by the SmartWater Foundation which funds crime reduction initiatives, Merseyside Police, Citysafe and the city council’s Neighbourhood Management Service.

SmartWater has been used in more than 400 criminal convictions so far and has a 100 percent success rate in prosecutions.

Merseytravel Gets National Business Award

MERSEYTRAVEL is one of the country’s best employers, according to judges of the National Business Awards.

The organisation was one of only a handful chosen to stand against the best of the best in the awards, which recognise the UK’s outstanding businesses and business people.

Merseytravel was shortlisted for The City and Guilds “Employer of the Year” award for its pioneering approach to skills development.

Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel, said:- “To make it to the finals of these awards is a fantastic achievement. We are being benchmarked against the best of the best.

We want to be a company that people want to work for and, when they do, they know they are valued.”

The National Business Awards judges hailed Merseytravel as “a best practice organisation” in the field of skills development, recognising the support it provides to other organisations in the UK.

Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General of Merseytravel, added:- “We are pleased to be recognised nationally for the way we are developing our staff; the people who make our organisation tick.

By investing in our staff we have seen tangible business benefits, including fewer days lost through staff sickness, a marked drop in grievances and complaints and a very high staff retention rate of some 93 per cent.”

Merseytravel’s pioneering Merseylearn project, the cornerstone of the organisation’s approach to skills development, has won a raft of national and regional awards. It is held up as a national example of the best way to approach learning and development.

Merseytravel is an Investors in People ‘Champion’ and, as such supports other organisations in the development of their own skills programmes.