DNA spray

 

   It looks like owning a McDonald’s franchise in Australia is a bit of a dangerous proposition. Reacting to a string of hold-ups at various locations, the fast-food corporation has contracted with security agency SelectaDNA to install anti-theft systems that use a DNA spray to mark criminals as they leave a store.

         Both invisible and odorless, the spray is comprised of a synthetic DNA strand with 60 different chromosomes and stays on a person’s skin for two weeks, and on their clothes for up to six months. Once a person has been sprayed, authorities can use UV lighting to see if they have been hit. Since the DNA spray is unique to the location it’s deployed in, the fact that a person is “tagged” is admissible in court as evidence.

           SelectaDNA was developed by a team comprised of a retired police officer and a chemist from the UK. It started out as a grease that is applied to construction equipment and supplies to help curb the theft of materials like copper and expensive machinery. With the development of the spray dispersal system, the duo came up with a way to help catch fleeing criminals. SelectaDNA claims that stores in the UK that have installed the theft deterrent system along with its warning signage have seen an 85% drop in crimes, a decrease of that size can’t be ignored.

  

   This is good news for the McDonald’s outlet at Merrylands in Sydney. The restaurant was held up by masked gunmen twice in one week, both times getting away with large sums of cash. The location is one of seven test sites in Australia, and if the system performs well it will be placed in all 780 McDonald’s stores across the country. 

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