Cleveland Police to spray suspects from distance for tracing

Cleveland Police said the spray should reduce the risk of police pursuits with officers able to trace suspects later

A police force will start spraying suspects in certain crimes so they can prove where they were.

Cleveland Police is becoming the latest force to use a DNA tagging spray which would "provide forensic evidence" to link suspects to specific crimes.

The force said an example of its use could be to trace off-road bike riders committing antisocial driving.

The substance can be sprayed from distance and should reduce the risk of police pursuits, a spokesperson said.

Ch Insp Wendy Tinkler said: "This is a viable tactical option for our officers if faced with a situation where the spray may provide an opportunity to identify a suspected offender who makes off from the scene of a crime.

"The spray provides us with forensic evidence that someone was in a specific location at a particular time.

"It could potentially assist us in court in bolstering any cases where we can provide this evidence."

Each canister contains a uniquely-coded DNA that helps link the perpetrator to a specific crime.

The use of the spray has attracted both support and criticism from people commenting on the force's social media post.

Supporters said anything that helped tackle the problem of anti-social drivers was welcome, but critics said its successful use would still depend on officers identifying and finding the riders in the first place.