Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help local police forces tackle thefts from tradesmen's vans.

The latest Crime Survey for England and Wales data shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% when comparing the year ending September 2023 with the year ending March 2010.

The Home Office is working with the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the Combined Industries Theft Solutions (CITS) to explore ways to prevent the theft of tools from tradespeople’s vans. The NBCC and Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Secured By Design) have also published crime prevention guidance to help tradespeople prevent theft: Crime Prevention Guides (nbcc.police.uk) and Secured by Design - Vans & Tool Theft.

Following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, to help reduce the rate of theft of tools from tradespeople’s vans, Thatcham Research has agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van.

In addition, through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure forces can share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and better tackle regional issues.