In Southeastern Asia, snatch thieves are common characters that target vulnerable citizens: women walking alone on the street. The criminals strike fast and disappear quickly on their motorcycles, making them almost impossible to be caught. The brutality of the rob-and-run technique employed by law breakers sometimes lead to severe injuries suffered by targeted women, and even to their deaths.
Such crimes are on the rise in Malaysia. The lack of both police control and relevant laws, which might lead to punishment of these criminals after they are (rarely) caught, prompted local sportswear, Ash Be Nimble, to take justice into their hands. Together with Ogilvy and Mather Malaysia, the brand launched the world’s first device that marks the thieves who commit such despicable crimes with non-washable colors.
Part of an anti-snatch theft campaign, the sportswear’s product is an ingenious self-defense tool that help authorities catch these dangerous thieves easily. Strategically named the Handbag Dyetonator, the device is basically a ‘bomb’ with colors, cleverly disguised as a bag accessory.
A small mobile-controlled gadget and a GPS are incorporated within the device, while the pièce de résistance is defined by the presence of colored permanent dyes and smoke flare packs. This way, criminals are caught red-handed, literally!
The color detonation can be activated within seconds just after the victim sends a text message, with a six-digit code from any other phone. This leads to the GPS module and the packs of dye to be activated at once, marking the thief with a burst of color, while allowing the police to spot and track the criminal in real time.
Although the ‘explosion’ might sound life-threatening, Hui Mathews, the founder of Ash Be Nimble, ensures potential customers that the gadget is “no more dangerous than an average aerosol spray.”
With a six-color variety, the stylishly modern tool generated a huge interest among consumers and has reached its beta phase, currently being tested for further improvements. Despite the device being tested, citizens can sign up for a trial. They can also express their interest regarding the modern self-defense tool by adding their name to the waiting list, which is available at the Handbag Dyetonator’s official website.
Social media can also be adopted as a modern method of identifying and catching criminals. This happened in Belarus, when a local advertising agency successfully used Facebook’s People You May Know algorithm to catch a wanted criminal.
The handbag detonator stands as a great non-lethal tool which makes it easier for the cops to spot thieves, but will it have the same success as the Belarusian project? Let us know what you think in the comments.