Marietta Police Use Microtechnology to Return Stolen Goods

It is a product called CopDots, and it looks like a cross between a felt marker and a glue dispenser. The stuff it dispenses is clear and permanent, and it contains thousands of tiny microchips that attach to whatever you mark on.

“On each one of these microscopic dots, there is a laser-edged serial number will show up to us with the use of this magnification glass,” says Marietta Police Officer David Baldwin. “And we can input  that serial number into a database and find out who the owner is.”

Baldwin says his department is the first in metro Atlanta to get the equipment that reads the tiny serial numbers. But the hope is that other police departments will get on board so they have a better chance of finding the owners of stolen goods no matter the jurisdiction.