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Ten FAQ's about me and SmartWater, with answers:
1. How long were you in the police service?
Eleven years.
2. Why did you leave?
The family had a car accident, leaving one with injuries that needed my nursing care, which severely impacted my ability to do my job as a police officer. West Midlands Police were great, but the situation became untenable, and I had to resign.
3. When did you start SmartWater?
Because I needed to be available to provide nursing care, I started as a security consultant first, as it allowed for flexible hours. But the idea for SmartWater had been formulated in my mind as a police officer. Fact: criminals, particularly thieves and robbers, hate anything that it traceable, as it's incriminating and 'too hot to handle'.
4. What did you do before the police?
I trained as a computer engineer, specialising in highway engineering. So, my world was filled with Boolean algebra and binary sequences. But I was a young man and didn't want to be stuck in a windowless computer suite for years, so I joined the police for some excitement. That worked!
5. Why did SmartWater become so big compared to other similar technologies?
First, it was due to a brilliant scientist, my brother Mike, who turned my idea into reality. Then, we developed a policing strategy called 'The Trapped Principle', which, when the police adopted it fully, dramatically reduced acquisitive crime (see graphic). Other technologies just didn't have the understanding of policing that we had.
6. What was your most significant breakthrough?
Two things:
First, we won the HRH Prince of Wales Award for Innovation on national TV in 1996. This award gave us tremendous impetus, and we will be forever grateful to His Royal Highness.
Secondly, we had our first conviction of a 'ram-raider' in Staffordshire, where the police were willing to try a new approach to crime-fighting. One of the fundamental elements of the 'Trapped Principle' is that technology alone is not enough to create a crime deterrent; criminals need to fear it, and the only way that happens is if they're sent to prison as a result.
7. What are your proudest moments with SmartWater?
As we helped the police reduce crime and convict serious criminals, there are many, but two come to mind in relation to the SmartWater Foundation, our charitable arm established by my brother and I:
1. Helping Syrian archaeologists protect their antiquities from thieves working for ISIS;
2. Developing a new type of spray product that we, via the police, issued to people under threat of domestic violence. The deterrent value of SmartWater traceability was so great at that time that it forced the potential assailants to stay away. We were protecting the most vulnerable of people.
8. How big did SmartWater get before you retired?
When I left, the SmartWater Group was an international, multi-million-pound business with a nine-figure valuation, employing hundreds of people.
9. What about now?
SmartWater is now part of a larger corporation called DeterTech, which is expanding rapidly worldwide. I am still a shareholder and know that the current team has ambitions to be the first billion-dollar company created in Shropshire.
10. What advice would you give young entrepreneurs?
Love your employees, treat them like family.
When promoting people, be blind to race, gender and religion - if they are good enough, promote them.
Never lie.
Keep fighting, take chances and study the market, your customers and your competition.
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