Secure Design
High Tech Chips to Track Stolen Goods
Using the latest developments in microchip technology to combat the trade in stolen goods is part of a £5.5 million anti-crime initiative announced by the Home Office Minister in May 2000. The first products to benefit from the tags were mobile phones and new and second-hand boats. Three further pilot schemes have been selected to demonstrate how crime in the goods supply chain can be reduced by using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID systems).
Advances in electronic tracking technology are being used to implant a small identity chip into consumer goods at risk from theft such as televisions, computers and cameras. The chip reveals the origin and ownership of the product. This will greatly increase the ability of police to identify and recover stolen merchandise and allow companies to protect their products and prevent goods being stolen.
The scheme will be a collaboration between police services, HM Customs & Excise, manufacturers, UK retailers and distributors and will have two key advantages over conventional methods:
It will enable commercial companies to track their products effectively, resulting in better asset management, security and reduced stock losses.
It will reduce theft of personal property by acting as a deterrent to would be thieves, making it more difficult to sell on stolen goods and help to prevent fraud and counterfeiting.
The first schemes to benefit from the new technology have protected mobile phones produced by Tri-Mex International Ltd, and new and second-hand boats sold by HPI limited.
Bottles of fine wines and spirits, personal care products and high-value jewellery will be tagged under the new schemes announced in October 2001. The schemes will involve goods produced by Allied Domecq, Unilever and Argos being tagged at the point of manufacture. The progress of these items through the supply chain can then be tracked. The tags will provide an audit trail of each shipment, allowing the companies to identify if a product has gone missing, and where in the supply chain the hteft has taken place.
The initiative represents technological advances in radio frequency identification (RFID), electronic data tags and radio data communication systems, particularly in supply chain applications.
More information
For further information on technical aspects contact Integrated Product Intelligence. Telephone: 020 7419 7761.
Last update: 17 October 2001