Police data shows that tool theft across the UK jumped by 13% in October 2024 compared with the previous month
Tradespeople are urged to stay vigilant and take extra precautions to keep their tools safe, as theft typically rises during the darker autumn and winter months.
Police data, obtained by Direct Line business insurance, shows that tool theft across the UK jumped by 13% in October 2024 compared with the previous month. The higher rates were sustained throughout the winter months.
Almost half (48%) of tradespeople have refused a job where they couldn’t park in proximity to their location, due to fear of tool theft.
In 2023, tool theft in October saw an even larger 18% leap, with almost 100 cases reported to police every day of the month.
With almost half of all reported tool thefts in 2024 (49%) being from vans, tradespeople are changing their behaviour to reduce the risk they face.
Almost half (48%) of tradespeople surveyed by Direct Line said that they had turned down jobs where they could not park their van where they could see it, with 21% saying that they had done so multiple times.
While over a quarter (26%) of tool thefts occur while working onsite, one in five (21%) happen when a van is parked on the street, 11% occur when a van is parked onsite, and 7% occur in car parks.
In addition, over a third of tradespeople (36%) said they had sometimes transported their tools in the boot of their car rather than in their van to make it less obvious that they were carrying valuable equipment.
A further 23% say that they are thinking of doing so, whilst 16% say they would like to, but have too many tools to fit in their car.
Precautions tradespeople take to avoid tool theft
|
Precaution |
Proportion of tradespeople |
|
Remove all my tools from the van overnight |
37% |
|
Always keep the van locked, even if just away from it briefly |
36% |
|
Keep my van in a lock up or secure location |
27% |
|
Lock tools securely in storage in the van |
27% |
|
Marked / engraved my tools |
27% |
|
Added extra security to my van e.g.: alarms, slam/hook locks, drill plates |
24% |
|
Added extra alarms / CCTV to the place where I store my tools |
24% |
|
Only take the tools I need for the job on that day |
22% |
|
Carry my tools with me at all times rather than leaving them |
16% |
|
Have fitted valuable tools with trackers |
13% |
Source: Direct Line business insurance 2025
Whilst tool thefts reported to the police in 2024 were 18% lower than in 2023, there are concerns that many thefts go unreported. The police urge tradespeople to report all thefts, to enable them to track patterns of theft and plan operations against the criminals.
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