Gary Higgins

Renowned risk management company, the SmartWater Group is working with The Survey Association (TSA) and survey equipment manufacturers to help tackle the growing problem of surveying equipment theft. Increasingly, criminal gangs are targeting building and transport construction sites to steal expensive surveying tools. SmartWater Technology, a division of the SmartWater Group has been working with TSA for the past two years, mapping organized criminal gangs targeting survey equipment nationally and providing support to police investigations. Members of TSA report their crime data to SmartWater’s team of experienced Intelligence Analysts who study the information and build up informed patterns of criminality, but this is just one part of the work they do. High value equipment theft The construction industry is similarly targeted by the same criminal gangs. When businesses lose valuable equipment, projects are seriously disrupted and livelihoods lost. SmartWater proactively use the data to build as full an intelligence picture as possible, helping to pinpoint the activity of organized crime groups. In support of the partnership between The Survey Association, equipment manufacturers and the police, SmartWater urges those in the construction industry suffering high value equipment theft to report their crime incidents. TSA President, Adam Bradley, noted: “It is vital that TSA Members and those in the wider construction industry impacted by theft, continue to provide SmartWater with the data needed to disrupt organized criminal activity. Reporting every incident of theft and attempted theft to SmartWater builds the evidence required to make arrests and recover stolen equipment.” Providing intelligence to clients Gary Higgins, COO of SmartWater Technology, added: “SmartWater is making it much harder for criminal gangs to get away with targeting surveyors. As well as continuing our partnership with TSA, we are also working directly with the three major manufacturers of surveying tools - as well as police forces across the UK. Stolen equipment can be easily identified, enabling legal cases to be brought against criminal gangs and our new CIAP center is helping to prevent thefts happening in the first place by providing intelligence to clients.” SmartWater is currently the only forensic system compliant with the HO Forensic Science Regulators Code of Practice and therefore the only solution currently admissible in court.

Renowned risk management company, SmartWater Technology Limited (The SmartWater Group), has teamed up with Vantage England & Wales to help protect its agricultural customers from rural crime. As a result of the partnership, SmartWater Technology, a division of The SmartWater Group, will supply forensic marking liquid for Vantage’s Trimble agricultural portfolio, including advanced navigation and machine control systems designed specifically for farming use. SmartTrace liquid Each Trimble product comes with a bottle of SmartTrace liquid with a unique forensic code. All the user needs to do is to apply this to their asset using the syringe provided and register the individual code on the national database. Also provided with the SmartTrace liquid are deterrent stickers that can be applied to each of the Trimble brand products. If in the event a stolen item is recovered it can instantly be tracked back to its owners via the database, which is accessible to the police. Gary Higgins, Chief Operations Officer (COO) of SmartWater Technology division, stated “We are delighted to be working with and supporting Vantage England and Wales with this industry first venture. Valuable assets will now be forensically marked, making them uniquely identifiable and therefore less attractive to thieves.” SmartWater forensic solution We chose SmartWater as it is used in many industries including banking, retail and construction" Gary adds, “With hundreds of criminal convictions to date and a 100% conviction rate in court, criminals are aware of the power of SmartWater to categorically link them to their crimes.” Mark Griffiths, National Sales Manager at Vantage England & Wales Ltd, said “We at Vantage needed a deterrent to protect our customers’ equipment, we chose SmartWater as it is used in many industries including banking, retail and construction. Being able to apply a product meeting specification for these industries and bringing it to UK agriculture made complete sense and has been well received by our customers.” Compliance with HO Forensic Science Code of Practice Mark adds, “Our product association with SmartWater will not only deter thieves, but it gives our customers confidence that we can support them throughout the process should the worst happen.” SmartWater forensic solution is currently the only system that is compliant with the HO Forensic Science Regulators Code of Practice, which means it is admissible in Court as evidence. Rural crime in England hit an eight-year peak last year, rising by 9% on the previous year. Costing businesses around £46m in losses, the rise was partially driven by organized gangs targeting expensive vehicles, such tractors and quad bikes.  

The SmartWater Group, one of the UK’s fastest growing risk management companies, launches its Intelligence Portal in Shropshire to help track Organized Criminal Gangs (OCGs) as they move across the UK, stealing valuable assets from infrastructure and construction sites. Costing over £2m, the Center for Infrastructure and Asset Protection (CIAP) has unique access to privileged closed source data provided by both police and their Clients, enabling highly trained analysts to track the movement of the gangs across the UK. Protecting key assets The benefit for Clients, such as the Solar Trade Association, The Survey Association, Ecclesiastical Insurance Group and many others, are that, as the criminal gang travels into a new region, CIAP analysts send ‘early warning’ security alerts to enable rapid deployment of target-hardening measures to protect key assets. According to the National Crime Agency, serious and organized crime (SOC), which includes attacks on infrastructure sites, now affects the UK more than any other national security threat. It is estimated to cost the UK economy at least £37 billion a year, with figures increasing year on year. National critical infrastructure SmartWater’s CIAP has already assisted the police in securing the conviction of hundreds of criminals for serious offenses against the national critical infrastructure. One case involved the tracking of a criminal gang across the Midlands region as they stole hundreds of thousands of pounds of solar panels. Working in partnership with the police, a trap was set using a combination of SmartWater forensics and mobile CCTV, resulting in the arrest and conviction of the gang for theft. Says Gary Higgins, SmartWater Technology’s COO and Head of CIAP: “With its privileged access to closed source data, CIAP provides a unique service for its many Clients, further enhancing the SmartWater Group’s reputation as Innovators in risk management.”

Risk Management experts SmartWater are working with renowned Telecoms companies to help protect them from attacks on their masts. With many 5G cellphone phone masts having been the subject of recent arson attacks, SmartWater has extended its long-running relationship with MBNL (Mobile Broadband Network Limited) to now include the protection of their assets from criminal damage. Jointly owned by telecoms providers EE and Three, MBNL has - along with other telecom companies - been the subject of several mast attacks from conspiracy theorists falsely linking 5G technology with the Coronavirus. As a result, MBNL has started deploying a number of security enhancements across its mast sites, including the use of specially-adapted SmartWater ‘SmartSpray’ systems, that have been developed in consultation with MBNL. Unique identifying code SmartWater has an established track record of working with utilities and telecoms companies to reduce crime, having already reduced incidents of metal and cable theft across the MBNL estate by a significant 77%. It is now expected for SmartWater to help replicate this success in reducing incidents of arson and criminal damage. Each SmartWater forensic liquid contains a unique identifying code, which is registered to each site. Once a SmartSpray system is triggered, the offender is marked with this unique liquid and can be linked back to a specific crime scene, helping to secure criminal prosecution. The liquid is invisible to the naked eye but fluoresces SmartWater’s trademarked yellow-green glow under UV light, which is how it is detected by Police throughout the UK. Avoid targeting sites SmartWater carries a 100% conviction rate in court and has been used to convict thousands of criminals MBNL will also be erecting high-visibility SmartWater deterrent signage around each site, warning offenders of the risk that they will be traced to the scene of their crime, if they decide to attack a protected mast site. SmartWater currently offer the only forensic system that is compliant with the Government’s Forensic Science Regulators Code of Practice which means it is the only solution that is currently admissible in court. As SmartWater carries a 100% conviction rate in court and has been used to convict thousands of criminals - including several high-profile crime gangs - professional criminals will actively avoid targeting sites using the technology. Help protect infrastructure Gary Higgins, Chief Operating Officer of SmartWater, commented: “At SmartWater we understand the importance of connectivity and the value of communication, we are proud of the work we have done to help the Telecoms Industry protect itself against criminal behavior. Anyone attacking MBNL Mast Sites now, thanks to our cutting edge technology, run the risk of being forensically linked to the scene of their crime.” John Watkins, Manager of Operational Security at MBNL, added: “At MBNL we are proud of our close working relationship with SmartWater and their operations team and continue to build on our extensive relationship. We are continuing to use SmartWater solutions and advice to help protect our infrastructure while we #SpeedupBritain.”