Buddy Bourne has been farming since 1974, and from time to time, he said his equipment has gone missing.
“We have diesel fuel that’s been stolen here, tool boxes, implement trailers,” Bourne said. He's become pretty close with the deputies who come out to investigate. “We stay in contact more than I wish we had to.”
However, that may soon change with the help of new, special technology called Smartwater CSI. It's a forensically-coded material that's being handed out to farmers in Robertson County.
“They can apply to their property, their tools, their power tools, that will give each one a unique forensic code that is only registered to that individual, so it acts like DNA for their property,” Robertson County Chief Deputy Michael Van Dyke said.
The Smartwater will stay on equipment for about five years. It'll mark an unknowing criminal for weeks.
“Its invisible to the naked eye and shows up under a specific wavelength of UV light that our officers are equipped with flashlights to be able to detect that,” Van Dyke said.
Every new inmate booked into the Robertson County Jail will also be scanned for the Smartwater mark.
“If you’re going to steal something, don’t come to Robertson County. We’re going to catch you,” said Van Dyke.
“We’re watching now. We can be more vigilant because we have the technology to do it,” Bourne added.
