Help us make tool theft a specific criminal offence!

The rate at which tools are being stolen from British workers is at an all-time high. 

Tradesmen are known as Britain’s backbone yet have to endure the high daily chance of having their livelihood’s detrimentally affected by tool theft. 

Thieves will not be deterred from committing this crime until the Government step up and make this a specific offence, with tougher penalties.

The study by Direct Line found that a tool has been stolen from a worker every 17 minutes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since March 2021, according to new analysis of police force data.

In total, 31,161 tools were stolen, the majority of which (17,370) were taken by thieves breaking into vehicles.

This is an increase over pre-pandemic levels. In the 2019 calendar year 28,681 cases of tool theft were reported, the equivalent of one stolen every 20 minutes.

With the average value of a stolen tool costing £385, there has been £80 million worth of equipment taken over the last year.

This isn’t a victimless crime, once a tradesman’s tools are stolen that person then incurs the cost of new tools which can potentially plunge many into debt given the average tool collection can start at around £4,000, there is then the damage done to the victim’s vehicle which also comes at high cost, not to mention the loss of earnings whilst waiting to be able to replace stolen tools. 

Currently the Police are not even in a position to investigate these crimes. Tool theft needs to be made a specific offence that differs to other thefts. This type of thefts affects the livelihoods of thousands of hard working, tax paying tradesmen every year and it’s now becoming a high risk career.

Lets support our much needed and respected tradesmen by signing this petition and making sure these thieves pay the price, not our hard workers.