Protecting Your Tools and Work Vehicle.

Protecting Your Tools and Work Vehicle.

Good Afternoon to you all. 

Last weekend my team was tasked with distributing crime prevention advice, regarding thefts from cars and vans, to local hotels. With thefts from motor vehicles, especially tool thefts unfortunately on the rise, I wanted to share some simple but effective crime prevention advice to help everyone, especially tradespeople keep their tools, vans and livelihoods safe. I have also attached the secured by design guidance to this message. 

Protecting Your Tools and Work Vehicle

Tools stored in vans are often targeted by criminals because they can be expensive and easy to sell on. The impact of a theft can be significant, not only due to the cost of replacing equipment but also the loss of work and income while waiting for replacements. Criminals will sometimes return to target the same vehicle again once new tools have been purchased.

Here are some practical steps you can take to reduce the risk:

✅ Don't leave valuables on display

Items left in plain sight can attract opportunist thieves. Remove or hide tools, mobile phones, sat nav's, wallets, bags and other valuables whenever possible.

✅ Keep keys secure

Never leave keys or fobs inside your vehicle, even for a short period. At home, keep keys away from doors, windows and letterboxes where they could be seen or accessed by thieves.

✅ Lock up every time

Always lock doors and close windows when leaving your vehicle unattended, whether you're at a petrol station, collecting a parking ticket or parked outside your home. Unlocked vehicles are often the easiest targets. If your van does not have a factory-fitted alarm or immobiliser, consider having an approved system installed.

✅ Consider fitting a tracker

Vehicle tracking systems can significantly improve the chances of recovering a stolen van by allowing its location to be monitored. you could also attach a tracker such as an ait tag or tile to your tools to help us track the stolen property.

✅ Use additional physical security

Steering wheel locks, gear lever locks and pedal boxes can all act as visible deterrents. Consider theft-resistant number plate fixings to help prevent plates being stolen and used for criminal activity.

✅ Park smart

Where possible, keep your van in a garage or parked out of sight. If you have driveway gates, keep them closed overnight. When working away from home, consider using recognised "Safer Parking" accredited car parks.

✅ Use CCTV and alarms

CCTV can deter offenders and provide valuable evidence if a crime does occur. If you have a garage, consider linking it to your home alarm system or installing additional security measures.

👮 Kent Police Advice

Please remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity around work vehicles, particularly during the evening and overnight hours.

If you have been a victim of tool theft, report it to Kent Police as soon as possible and ensure you keep records of serial numbers, photographs and any unique markings on your tools to assist with identification and recovery.

Working together, we can make it much harder for criminals to target our local tradespeople.

Stay safe and thank you for helping to protect our communities.

Consider marking up your tools with a DNA marking solution. The kits are around £15 and one kit will mark up around 50 items. This will help us get your tools back to you if we do manage to recover them.

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