Smart Water

[salfordian]

Forgive me if this has been talked about before, I tried to use the search but couldn't see it.

The Company called Smartwater - the thing that is now being used in Security Vans and on the railways to stop scum nicking metal - have announced they will help War Memorials

They have a site - which is interesting - verdict and thoughts?

www.inmemoriam2014.org/Home/Supporters

[shred]

Hi Salfordian,

It has been discussed a while back on the following thread salfordwarmemorials.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=danger&thread=927&page=1

Thoughts and verdict: anything to protect these precious memorials is welcomed, although the application of the smart water will not protect a plaque or memorial from theft it just makes it easier to detect if the metal has been taken from a memorial (even if the metal has been melted down). I have read that it is felt that it would not be fitting to place a sign notifying the fact that the memorial had been treated, either next to or on the memorial, so a thief may just take the chance that a memorial has not been treated (that is presuming that the thief has even heard of smart water).
I also feel that the application process for getting the smart water looks rather arduous:

Who can apply for In Memoriam 2014 and who can authorise the application of SmartWater to a war memorial?
Everyone is encouraged to apply for In Memoriam 2014 but SmartWater should only be applied by the custodian of a war memorial or with the clear permission of the custodian of a war memorial. It is not appropriate to register for SmartWater as an individual and go round and apply this to multiple war memorials without submitting each memorial as this may create duplication and confuse the project. If you believe a war memorial needs to be protected you should encourage the custodian to apply, if they are not responsive then contact the In Memoriam 2014 team and we will contact the custodian to encourage them to get involved with the project.

Do I need legal permission to apply SmartWater?
You should firstly identify whether a memorial is a scheduled monument, listed or in a conservation area. If it is then the relevant statutory consents may be required. The custodian should be aware of its status, if not you can contact the Conservation Officer at the local planning authority to determine whether permission is required. You may also be able to check this on the websites of the relevant national heritage body:
English Heritage: The National Heritage List of England
Historic Scotland: Listed Buildings

In a large city such as Salford I feel that I/we/you would have to write three of four letters to gain the relevant agreements from the council, church, club etc... So this may be better handled directly by the custodian of the memorial.

In short; I would encourage any custodian of a war memorial to apply for the smart water and apply it to their memorial. A push for greater public awareness of the product is also required to deter thefts (although the prosecution of thieves/scrap metal dealers may help cause greater public awareness of the product in the future).

[ned]

Catch one thief desecrating a war memorial. Hang them. Result, message home, wicked problem solved.