Personal items
Marking your property
Where you mark your property is important. If you are engraving the item, the mark needs to be out of sight but not hidden somewhere the police wouldn’t be able to find it.
Items like jewellery and antiques can be difficult to mark and could reduce their value. You should seek expert advice before marking such items.
- Keep an up-to-date inventory of valuable items. Take photographs of personal items and note the make, model and serial number of assets such as computers, mobile phones and printers. This makes it easier for police to trace the items if stolen.
- Visibly and permanently mark your belongings. Use warning signs at the front and back of the home to advertise that you have marked items. Property marking can make it harder for criminals to sell your items on.
- You can mark your personal items by inscribing or etching your postcode plus the number of your house/flat (or the first two letters of its name). For example LE19 2BX 11 (postcode followed by house number) or LE19 2BX FO (postcode followed by first two letters of house name).
- Depending on the type of product you want to mark there are several ways you can make it identifiable:
- Engraving or etching is a good way of marking hard surfaces but it does leave a permanent visible mark.
- An ultra-violet (UV) marker pen leaves an invisible mark on your property and can only be seen using a UV lamp. However, this mark can be washed off or fade with time so needs to be reapplied regularly.
- Heavier metal items such as lawnmowers can be marked using a hammer and set of punches.