SNIFFING OUT CRIME

Using Synthetic Skunk Oil, Police Roust Criminals From Buildings

The same stinky stuff used in New Zealand to keep dogs from pooping in and
tearing up gardens is helping curb crime in Richmond.

City police are using Skunk Shot, a tiny tube of smelly gel that spreads
skunklike fumes through an entire building, to keep drug dealers,
prostitutes and vagrants from doing their dirty work in abandoned houses
and commercial buildings.

The potent, smelly gel seems to be working.

Skunk Shot is a mixture of synthetic skunk oil and petrolatum. Officers
puncture the tube and spread the gel inside abandoned buildings.

The powerful scent covers up to 1,500 square feet and lasts up to a month.

Yesterday afternoon, Lt. Thomas Nolan spread the funky fragrance inside a
vacant house on Venable Street that has a history of drug activity. When he
and another officer arrived, they found a man sitting by himself inside. He
was led out in handcuffs, charged with trespassing and cocaine possession.

Nolan hopes the Skunk Shot will keep others away from that house, just as
it has kept people out of an abandoned factory in the 1200 block of West
Clay Street.

"Within two weeks, it was obvious that using this in the factory had forced
[vagrants] out because of the strong odor," police Chief Andre Parker said.

The police department has used Skunk Shot in five buildings and plans to
use it in many more.

Parker called Skunk Shot a "low-tech," inexpensive response to crime. It
costs about $15 per tube. Officers are using it only in places that are
listed with the city as vacant and have clearly posted "No trespassing" signs.

The stuff is a temporary solution to dealing with abandoned properties in
the city. Richmond's Community-Assisted Public Safety program addresses
quality-of-life issues and problem spots, including illegal clubs and
abandoned houses used for prostitution and drug dealing.

"It takes a while to get complete adjudication" for those problem houses,
Parker said. So for now, until a vacant building is demolished or
rehabilitated, it will be skunked.

Skunk Shot was developed by scientists at Victoria University in New
Zealand and is marketed by an Auckland-based company called Connovation.
The product is described on the Web site as "highly effective in protecting
cars, boats, outdoor furniture, etc., from scratch marks, paw prints and
territorial 'spraying.'"

Although Richmond is ahead of the curve with its use of stinky smells as
weapons against crime, Parker didn't come up with the idea himself.

Other police agencies across the country have been toying with foul odors
as crime deterrents. Among them are the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.