Prevention & Deterrence

 

The focus of all River Yealm Boatwatch activity is on high visibility prevention and deterrence.

 

Deterrence

Boatwatchers wear high visibility jackets which clearly display their role. Teams of Boatwatchers patrol the river both on the water and along the shore. Team Leaders are given complete discretion on how to organise their patrols. Patrols are random and unpredictable: which is regarded as an important characteristic of deterrence.  

 

Prevention

River Yealm Boatwatch promotes the Selectamark microdot coding system for marking high value items of marine equipment. Marking kits can be obtained – at a special reduced price – from Boatwatch Officers and the Harbourmaster. Each kit contains a bottle of liquid containing uniquely-coded microdots and can mark up to fifty items of equipment. The liquid is “brushed-on” to the item to be marked and, under UV light, it reveals unique, key data stored in a secure database. The system is well-known to the police and can lead to rapid recovery of stolen equipment.

Each item of equipment that is marked with microdots also displays a tamper-resistant sticker which clearly signifies that the item has been marked.

In addition, notice boards at each of the principal launching sites on the River Yealm warn would-be criminals of the widespread application of DNA forensic chemicals to mark high value items of marine equipment.