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The place most likely to be a victim of van crime is Wolverhampton, according to vehicle security specialist HH Driverright.
Their map of van theft hotspots in the UK reveals that Wolverhampton and the Black Country is the most high-risk location in the country.
Using its own data for attempted and actual van thefts, Wolverhampton was the worst place for incidents involving vehicles fitted, or not equipped, with its technology.
Second on the list was neighbour Birmingham, while Romford in Essex claimed the dubious honour of third on the podium for van thefts.
Fourth place in the van crime rankings went to Dartford in London, with the northern powerhouse Manchester coming in fifth, followed by Leicester, Stoke, Bradford, Doncaster and Glasgow.
The top van theft hotspots data is drawn from various sources including information coming into the call centre from HH Driveright customers. These are often delivery companies operating sizeable fleets and is said to include some of the biggest household names in Britain.
“Van theft is indisputably on the rise and highly prevalent in various parts of the country, as demonstrated by our map,” said HH Driveright’s managing director, Rebecca Hall. “Whilst drivers operating in these areas need to be particularly cautious, we must remember that we are facing an epidemic of van theft, with vehicles often shipped out to Russia, due to supply issues in that country, as a result of sanctions. Other thieves are just responding to a shortage in the supply of vehicles and long wait times and selling vans into the black market here."
Earlier this year, data from the Metropolitan Police revealed that there was a significant increase in tool theft in London. Data from April showed that there were 34,712 tools stolen between 2021 and 2022 compared to 21,445 tools from 2019 to 2020.
Tool theft from a vehicle increased by 25% which accounted for one third of all tool thefts recorded in 2021 and 2022. The crime hotspots was the borough of Barnet which recorded the most tool thefts, while the well-to-do area of Kensington & Chelsea recorded the lowest.
Builders were the most targetted trade in the report for thefts from a vehicles. Builders were, on average, four times more likely than the next most picked on trade, plumbers, to be the victims of van related crime.
According to data from the Metropolitan Police, there has been a significant increase in tool theft in London, with 34,712 tools stolen between 2021 and 2022 compared to 21,445 tools from 2019 to 2020.
Tool theft from a vehicle has increased by 25% in the last year, accounting for a third of all tool thefts recorded in 2021 and 2022.
Barnet recorded the most tool thefts, while Kensington & Chelsea recorded the lowest.
Builders were the most targetted trade in the report for thefts from a vehicle, and fell victim four times more than the next most picked on trade, plumbers.
| Occpuation | Count |
| BUILDER | 258 |
| ELECTRICIAN | 60 |
| ENGINEER | 45 |
| SELF EMPLOYED | 41 |
| PLUMBER | 30 |
| CARPENTER | 29 |
| GARDENER | 18 |
Despite four in five tradespeople experiencing tool theft, only 0.3% of all cases ended in a charge for the suspect. In over 86% of tool thefts reported between 2021 and 2022, a suspect was never identified, and there were three times as many cases where a suspect was known but not charged than there were charges.
The Tool Theft in London 2022 report, collated by Herts Tools, reveals the impact of tool theft in London, the most affected industries, and the types of tools that are targeted most often.
However, a suspect is 20 times less likely to be charged for tool theft from a vehicle than they are for any other theft category.
| Borough | 2021 | 2022 | Total | % change | |
| Grand Total | 14825 | 16534 | 31359 | 11.53% | |
| Barnet | 892 | 1189 | 1 | 2081 | 33.30% |
| Enfield | 845 | 949 | 2 | 1794 | 12.31% |
| Newham | 792 | 969 | 3 | 1761 | 22.35% |
| Brent | 623 | 744 | 4 | 1367 | 19.42% |
| Waltham Forest | 616 | 702 | 5 | 1318 | 13.96% |
| Ealing | 644 | 653 | 6 | 1297 | 1.40% |
| Haringey | 676 | 605 | 7 | 1281 | -10.50% |
| Bromley | 663 | 602 | 8 | 1265 | -9.20% |
| Hillingdon | 510 | 667 | 9 | 1177 | 30.78% |
| Tower Hamlets | 558 | 556 | 10 | 1114 | -0.36% |
| Southwark | 556 | 548 | 11 | 1104 | -1.44% |
| Lewisham | 516 | 582 | 12 | 1098 | 12.79% |
| Havering | 521 | 563 | 13 | 1084 | 8.06% |
| Redbridge | 510 | 553 | 14 | 1063 | 8.43% |
| Croydon | 560 | 467 | 15 | 1027 | -16.61% |
| Lambeth | 423 | 565 | 16 | 988 | 33.57% |
| Greenwich | 415 | 563 | 17 | 978 | 35.66% |
| Camden | 333 | 627 | 18 | 960 | 88.29% |
| Wandsworth | 457 | 457 | 19 | 914 | 0.00% |
| Westminster | 404 | 437 | 20 | 841 | 8.17% |
| Hounslow | 358 | 465 | 21 | 823 | 29.89% |
| Harrow | 419 | 351 | 22 | 770 | -16.23% |
| Hackney | 328 | 425 | 23 | 753 | 29.57% |
| Barking & Dagenham | 342 | 356 | 24 | 698 | 4.09% |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | 261 | 328 | 25 | 589 | 25.67% |
| Bexley | 327 | 260 | 26 | 587 | -20.49% |
| Islington | 284 | 298 | 27 | 582 | 4.93% |
| Merton | 222 | 268 | 28 | 490 | 20.72% |
| Sutton | 237 | 180 | 29 | 417 | -24.05% |
| Richmond Upon Thames | 186 | 230 | 30 | 416 | 23.66% |
| Kingston Upon Thames | 177 | 208 | 31 | 385 | 17.51% |
| Kensington & Chelsea | 168 | 165 | 32 | 333 | -1.79% |
| Grand Total | 29650 | 33068 | 11.53% |
What to do if your tools are stolen:
Report your tools as stolen, calling the police on 101 immediately.
