The Windsor Police Service is endorsing a new product that could help return personal belongings after a robbery or theft.
The Trace identifier pen marks personal belongings with a tiny disc, about the size of a grain of sand and invisible to the naked eye, that holds a personal identification number. That number is registered to the user through the Trace website.
When the police locate stolen property they can use a special camera to see if the item has been marked and then access the Trace database to identify the rightful owner.
"It happens quite a bit for us that we'll have property that we don't know who the owner is and we're not able to reunite them with it, which I'm sure they would like it back," says Windsor police Constable Jeffrey Pocock. "This will just enable us to hopefully get it back to them quicker."
Each pen costs around $40 and can mark about 50 items. It can be purchased through the Trace website, the Home Hardware website or at three Wireless Warehouse locations in Windsor.