INTERVIEW RAY STAFFORD
I n the last four years, tool crime has more than doubled. It went from one incident every 23 minutes in 2018 to the current statistic of one every nine minutes. And van manufacturers, insurers, after-market security providers, the wider construction industry, law enforcement – and even tradespeople – could do more to tackle the problem. So says Ray Stafford, Founder of Van Watch, a not-for-profit organisation committed to reducing tool theft, particularly those stolen from vans. Often considered unique to urban areas, Stafford says tool theft is spreading into more remote locations. “Our postcode analysis showed that apart from extremely rural areas such as the north of Scotland and parts of West Wales where the population is small, the issue seems to be fairly universal.” Van Watch is working with the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), the UK Police’s Business Crime Unit – and the theory is that tool theft is often associated with activities of county lines drug gangs. “Let’s face it, no one steals tools because they want tools,” Stafford says. “They do it for the money they can get from selling tools. The illegal drug business sits closely alongside, if not completely parallel, to tool theft – whether it’s opportunistic or crime carried out on a much more organised level. As that spreads into the sticks, so do associated crimes.”
Tool theft, often out of vans, will continue to get worse unless tradespeople and the broader industry take drastic action, says a key campaigner for improved tool safety DAYLIGHT ROBBERY
them down”. Of course, your van might still be broken into but at least you’ve kept your tools safer. 3. Check your insurance – go through insurance policy exemptions with a keen eye on details as roughly a third of tradespeople aren’t covered for tool theft by their current insurance, Stafford explains. “That's usually because the insurance policy
happen during the day and away from the tool owner’s home. “It’s at merchant car parks, hotel car parks, fast food outlets,” Stafford says. He advises tradespeople to follow these best practices:
the working day and when away from home. 2. Install a tool safe in your van – Stafford recommends locking tools in heavy-duty boxes from suppliers such as ArmourGuard or ToughBox. Additionally, set a decoy by keeping a few more Milwaukee, Bosch or DeWalt boxes visible “with a couple of bricks stored inside to weigh
1. Don’t leave tools in your van – when possible, remove tools from your van, even during
Keep your tools safe Around half of all tool thefts
Ray Stafford
24
Master Builder
www.fmb.org.uk
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting