AFBI/PSNI rewarded for innovation in reducing crime
AFBI, in conjunction with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), has recently won a prestigious Home Office Tilley Award for the most innovative method of crime prevention in the UK this year.
Professor Nick Tilley (pictured right) presented the prestigious Home Office Tilley Award for most innovative method of crime prevention in the UK this year to Inspector Colin Shaw, PSNI (centre) and Dr Adrian Allen, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (left) at the awards ceremony held in London recently.
These annual awards are made to police and local government partnerships which tackle crime using the most innovative, scientifically sound methods.
The award was given in recognition of the joint AFBI and PSNI anti-theft scheme in the Glens of Antrim which employed a novel eye scanning system to uniquely and permanently identify sheep, thereby acting as a deterrent against theft.
The retinal imaging technology, developed by the US company Optibrand, has been robustly evaluated by AFBI in a research project funded by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD). The system enables the rapid on-farm capture of a digital picture of the retina at the back of the eye. This image consists of a tree-like branching pattern of blood vessels that is unique to each individual animal – much like a human fingerprint.
The system also uses Global Positioning System (GPS) to record the precise geographical location of the farm on which the images have been recorded meaning that not only can identity be preserved, but also a link to the owner’s premises.
When sheep that are suspected of having been stolen are relocated, Optibrand’s unique software can rapidly compare their retinal images with those previously stored in the central database. Any matches can then be linked to the farm of origin, permitting return to their owner and facilitating prosecution when theft is suspected.
Over the past year and five months, many local farmers in the Glens of Antrim area have had their flocks imaged and registered on the PSNI/AFBI database. This has resulted in an overall reduction of the number of thefts experienced in the Glens area and more crucially, no thefts from farms enrolled on the scheme.
AFBI’s retinal imaging and DNA profiling technology can assist livestock owners and commercial organisations to improve the traceability of animals and food products.
Farmers who wish to have retinal imaging carried out on their flocks or herds as a deterrent against theft should contact:
Retinal scanning technology was developed by the US based company Optibrand and has been robustly evaluated by AFBI in a research project funded by DARD. The system enables the rapid on-farm capture of a digital picture of the back of an animal’s eye (retina). This image consists of a tree-like branching pattern of blood vessels that is unique to each individual animal – much like a human fingerprint.
The system also uses Global Positioning System (GPS) to record the precise geographical location of the farm on which the images have been recorded – this means that not only can identity be preserved but also a link to the owner’s property.
When sheep that are suspected of having been stolen are relocated, Optibrand’s unique software can rapidly compare their retinal images with those previously stored in the central database. Any matches can then be linked to the farm of origin, permitting return to their owner and facilitating prosecution when theft is suspected.
