Member

The figures on tool theft are staggering. Three in four tradespeople have experienced tool theft, with over 25,500 tool thefts reported to police last year. This equates to 72 thefts per day, with a total value of tools stolen estimated at £40 million, with individual losses often ranging from £1,000 to £5,000 per incident. For many sole traders, that can mean cancelled jobs, weeks without income and in some cases the loss of an entire livelihood overnight. These are not abstract statistics; they represent real people being forced out of work through no fault of their own. Despite this, the penalties currently imposed often fail to reflect the true economic and personal harm that is caused.