Chairman of Banknote Watch, Alan Townsend, comments: "Police officers that recover stolen notes stained with smoke or dye may not be aware of the potential for generating a lead in their investigation. The 'new age' of cash degradation systems contain unique taggants that link each note back to its source, essentially creating a DNA-equivalent for banknotes. The crime reduction potential of these systems is enormous.
"The new online resource centre pools knowledge on this area and answers questions based on the experience of real investigations."
A survey conducted by Banknote Watch earlier this year revealed that there are now 57,480 cash degradation systems in use, with 26,000 deployed for retail/financial cash protection and another 31,480 used in cash-in-transit and ATM protection.
Banknote Watch is supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Home Office, Scottish Executive and Northern Ireland Office. More information about the initiative can be found at www.banknotewatch.org
06/12/2006












