An estimated £16.3m worth of tools were stolen from vehicles across London in 2023, according to new data acquired by TVL Group.
The data, supplied by the Metropolitan Police via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, shows the escalating scale of tool theft and its devastating impact on tradespeople, with nearly 10,000 instances of thefts from a motor vehicle reported to the force in 2023 alone.
Laura Moran, managing director at van security solutions firm TVL Group, said: “That an estimated £16.3m worth of tools have been taken from honest tradespeople in just 12 months is a stark reminder of the scale of this crisis. For many workers, their tools are their livelihood. Losing them can mean missed jobs, delayed projects, and financial hardship, not to mention the emotional toll of feeling targeted and vulnerable.
“This epidemic is devastating lives and businesses, and it’s clear that more needs to be done to support tradespeople and protect their essential tools.”
Van theft also remains a significant threat for Londoners according to the Met Police data, with 2,760 vans reported stolen in 2023, meaning the force has seen a total of 11,799 vans taken since 2020.
The FOI figures coincide with growing calls for action across the industry, with a second Stop Tool Theft rally scheduled for 3 February 2025 in London. The event – organised by Trades United – will see tradespeople from across the country gather in Parliament Square to raise awareness for the growing threat of tool theft and to demand stronger protections for workers and their equipment.
TVL added that it’s committed to combating this growing threat by working with police forces, vehicle manufacturers, and tradespeople to develop robust security measures and raise awareness of the issue.
The Tell TVL platform, hosted in partnership with the International Security Register (ISR), calls on companies and van owners who have had items from their vans or their vans themselves stolen to anonymously report full details, including images, at www.telltvl.co.uk, as well as reporting the crime to the police.
This data is then used to create a real-time national database capturing the full scale and nature of van crime across the UK. Registered users are provided with free anonymised data reports highlighting crime hotspots and receive targeted crime prevention advice based on trends in entry methods.
