Nearly one in 10 tradespeople across the UK have become victims of tool theft, with Belfast having the highest rate at 14.6%- or one in six
Whilst Belfast took the lead spot with the most tool theft in the UK, cases were up by 13% nationwide.
BestHeating found via FOI data that over 40,000 cases of tool theft were reported to the police in 2022, with almost one in 10 (9%) of tradespeople being affected.
Averaging 110 reports of tool theft every day, the data found that the prime areas for thieves to strike are vans, sheds and garages, although some victims have stated how burglars broke into their homes to find equipment.
The top five areas with the most tool theft in the UK were:
- Belfast – 14.5%
- Birmingham – 11%
- Norwich – 10%
- Edinburgh – 9%
- London – 8.6%
Three ways to protect your tools
Anthony Neary, managing director of Safe.co.uk, has provided three pieces of advice to help tradespeople protect their tools:
Install locks and alarms to deter thieves
“Thieves want their robberies to be as simple as possible, so the more deterrents you can put in place, the better. Use sturdy padlocks, toolboxes that are hard to break into, and high-security storage sheds; then, they are more likely to leave your belongings alone and look for another target. Take this further and ensure there is a good alarm system in place on your vehicle, as this will alert people in the area that the vehicle has been compromised.”
Registering your tools increases the chance of them being returned to you
“In case the worst does happen, make sure tools have been registered and given unique identification numbers. This increases the chance of being reunited with your tools should the police come into contact with them. Engraving specific marks known to you, even a name, number or postcode, will make it much harder to be sold on as the tools will be less desirable.”
Do not leave items in your vehicles overnight
“Possibly the most commonly known piece of advice, yet so many tradespeople continue to ignore it and leave items in their vehicles overnight, thinking they won’t be a victim. In some areas of the UK, vans are six times as likely to be broken into than cars because thieves know that lots of tradespeople are too lazy to take their belongings out. When it comes to securing belongings, there are never enough precautions that you can put in place.”
High rates of tool theft add extra pressure in tough times
BestHeating’s John Lawless said on the findings: “Tradespeople are currently facing a lot of pressures from the rising cost of materials to customers not using them to save money, so it’s extremely worrying to see that these figures highlight crimes targeting them are rising at a vast rate.
“More needs to be done to protect tradespeople and harsher penalties should be in place for thieves as this can cost victims days of paid work whilst they scramble to replace tools that are a necessity complete jobs for customers.”
