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Innovative New Program Aims To Curb Property Theft

By  //  April 23, 2013

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Nationwide Effort Launches In Brevard County

BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA – Homeowners and law enforcement across America will soon have a new ally in the war against property theft and its starting point will be right here in Brevard County.

Sheriff Wayne Ivey, right, and Palm Bay Police Chief Doug Muldoon speak about CopM Dots at a press conference Tuesday in Palm Bay. (Image by Ed Pierce)
Sheriff Wayne Ivey, right, and Palm Bay Police Chief Doug Muldoon speak about CopM Dots at a press conference Tuesday in Palm Bay. (Image by Ed Pierce)

At a press conference held Tuesday at Palm Bay Police Department headquarters, Palm Bay Police Chief Doug Muldoon and Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey praised the merits of the new “Cop Dots” program and talked about what it can do to protect citizens against theft and crime.

“If we look at all the things we do to protect our homes, this is just another layer of protection,” Ivey said. “It gives property owners an opportunity to be engaged with law enforcement and that’s invaluable.”

Muldoon said the benefits of the program are numerous.

“We’ve not seen anything else on the marketplace as proactive as this product is,” he said. This gives us the option of almost giving property DNA.”

The Cop Dots program consists of a unique marking pen that places an invisible code of up to 300 microdots on personal property items. The code can be detected by law enforcement and gives them access to a secure, web-based data file once registered by property owners.

Cop Dots president Shawn Andreas demonstrates an application of a new program that adds DNA-like identification material to personal property. (Image by Ed Pierce)
Cop Dots president Shawn Andreas demonstrates an application of a new program that adds DNA-like identification material to personal property. (Image by Ed Pierce)

Field and patrol officers will be issued readers or smart phone applications to examine lost or stolen property for codes while working crimes.

Each Cop Dots pen contains a unique code that can easily identify ownership, making it a quick way for officers to track stolen items.

The code can be removed if the property is transferred or sold or upgraded over time.

Cop Dots president Shawn Andreas of Melbourne said pens will be sold at Lowe’s stores across America starting next week with the pens retailing for $29.95.

Dot readers and access to the nationwide database is provided to law enforcement agencies at no charge.

“We’re very excited because Cop Dots will change the way law enforcement works property crimes, Andreas said. “We will connect every law enforcement agency in the country to this system.”

Andreas said the Cop Dots themselves are tiny discs, about the size of a grain of sand and each one holds a unique personal identification number linking your property to you within a global database.

Each Cop Dot pen is filled with a special fluorescing adhesive and thousands of the tiny identification discs. (Image courtesy of Cop Dots)
Each Cop Dot pen is filled with a special fluorescing adhesive and thousands of the tiny identification discs. (Image courtesy of Cop Dots)

Each Cop Dot pen is filled with a special fluorescing adhesive and thousands of the tiny discs.

“I think we will make a big difference in the community and addressing crime,” Andreas said. “This is more than just an exciting new technology that applies an individual’s DNA to property, it’s a complete solution that gives law enforcement new capabilities in protecting communities.”

Cop Dots can be applied to just about everything including jewelry, bicycles, electronics, valuables and even automobiles.

“This technology now gives a deputy or police officer the ability, when confronting a suspect with suspicious property in their possession a real time method to determine ownership, which will ultimately provide evidence if a crime has been committed,” Muldoon said.

Andreas said response from law enforcement nationally has been impressive and positive and all police departments in Brevard and in Orlando are participating.

He said the program was designed to be easy to use and affordable, created in partnership with law enforcement, has an accessible 24-hour database and national distribution of the product through Lowes.

“It’s time to stop the criminals from helping themselves to our property,” Andreas said. “It’s time to keep them out of our homes and businesses and give law enforcement the information they need to catch and convict them.”