Tradespeople targeted by tool thieves every 21 minutes – one place had huge jump

Tradespeople targeted by tool thieves every 21 minutes – one place had huge jump


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ALMOST FOUR IN FIVE GRAFTERS SAID THEY HAD BEEN VICTIMS OF TOOL THEFT SINCE STARTING OUT IN BUSINESS AND DERBYSHIRE HAS RECORDED A HUGE 36% YEAR-ON-YEAR JUMP IN THE CRIME MARC WALKER 12:57,


21 May 2025Updated 12:57, 21 May 2025 Tradesmen and women are targeted by tool thieves every 21 minutes, new data shows. Crooks swiped a staggering 25,525 pieces of equipment worth


£40million last year, show Freedom of Information figures. Almost four in five grafters said they had been victims of tool theft since starting out in business. Derbyshire Constabulary


reported the biggest rise with its latest figures showing a 36% year-on-year jump in the crime. This was followed by Dorset (31%), Gwent (31%), Suffolk (18%) and City of London (13%). The


top 10 hotspots was rounded off by South Yorkshire (11%), North Yorkshire (10%), Norfolk (9%), West Yorkshire (6%) and Bedfordshire (6%). But efforts to tackle the crime yielded an overall


fall in tool theft across the UK by almost a fifth compared to 2023, said Direct Line business insurance, which compiled the stats. Its report said: "Over the past year, tradespeople


have taken a stand by advocating for restrictions on the sale of second-hand tools and tougher sentencing for tool thieves. "Their efforts may have been the catalyst for tool theft


falling by 18% in 2024 - a significant decline after at least four years of rising numbers since Direct Line first began reporting tool theft figures in 2020." The Metropolitan Police


was among 19 constabularies that recorded a drop with the Greater London force dealing with 4,000 fewer tool thefts than in the previous year. Article continues below Inspector Mark


Connolly, from the Met's Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "We know tool theft has a significant impact on tradespeople. "We're working hard across the Met to tackle it


through targeted operations and prevention, such as tool marking events and intelligence-led activity, to tackle organised crime groups selling stolen goods." Direct Line's Mark


Summerville added: "It’s important that all instances of tool theft are reported, so police forces and law makers understand the full extent of the issue, helping them to identify


offender patterns and to allocate resources to combat these crimes."