HERO...
STEALING lead from the roofs of schools and churches may seem like easy money. But thieves may find themselves (metaphorically) slipping up soon, thanks to crime-fighting synthetic grease, reports Police Product Review (Feb/March). Apply it to guttering and piping, and the dark grey substance marks thieves’ clothes and skin with unique DNA codes. They may think they’ve escaped unmarked, but the coding is impossible to remove and, even if wiped off, is visible under ultraviolet light. One police force has reported a 47 per cent drop in burglaries from schools, since it started offering DNA-marking kits in the borough.
...AND VILLAIN
DOES my bum look big in this? Fashion-conscious nurses could be asking the question, if stab-proof vests are added to their uniform. Nursing Standard (Jan 30) reports that an NHS trust is considering the move because of concerns about safety. But Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, doesn’t think it’s sensible. “Where employers know there is a problem of violence, security guards should be employed,” he says, adding that the vests can be cumbersome and may prevent nurses from restraining patients. “It is a sad indictment that people have to work in such difficult arenas.”