Prolific thief gets caught green-handed (From Crewe Guardian)

Prolific thief gets caught green-handed

12:34pm Friday 28th September 2007 in

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A SERIAL thief has become the first criminal to be convicted of breaking into decoy cars deployed by Cheshire Police to tackle vehicle crime.

Darren Charlesworth, aged 25, from Remer Street in Crewe was outsmarted after being sprayed with a security chemical when he broke into the car parked in Crewe.

An ultra-violet scanner used routinely by police revealed the SmartWater on his skin and clothes when he was brought in for police questioning for a separate offence.

Invisible in normal light, the DNA coded liquid glows green under ultra-violet rays and cannot be washed off, directly linking criminals with property offences.

Charlesworth activated the SmartWater when he smashed the window of the car to steal a dummy Sat Nav from the dashboard - he was also captured on the in-car video camera.

Further police checks also showed the chemical marking on the handlebars and saddle of his bike.

Charlesworth received a six month prison sentence suspended for 12 months after pleading guilty at South Cheshire Magistrates Court to stealing the Sat Nav and causing damage to the car.

Supervision and drug rehabilitation orders were also imposed and he was ordered to pay £412 compensation and costs.

Charlesworth additionally admitted to breaking into another car and stealing a stereo and a bag and asked for 36 similar charges of breaking into cars and one charge of burglary to be taken into consideration.

Detective Constable John Ruggiero, from Crewe Neighbourhood Policing Unit Investigation Team, said: "Like every other town Crewe has problems with persistent car criminals, and Sat Navs are their target of choice at the moment.

"We parked this decoy car in an area where a particular problem was developing, and it caught a man who had been responsible for a large number of crimes."

Superintendent Mick Garrihy, responsible for neighbourhood policing in Cheshire Police Eastern Area, added: "Criminals should take note that these cars are out there and that they are effective."