BBC figures have revealed that tools are being stolen from tradespeople across the UK approximately every 20 minutes.
Tool theft has become a serious and increasingly disruptive problem for Britain’s tradespeople, threatening livelihoods, small businesses and the ability of skilled workers to earn a living. Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin has been campaigning for stronger action, arguing that the theft of essential work equipment should be treated as far more than a straightforward property crime.
Her campaign, the Theft of Tools of Trade (Sentencing) Bill, seeks to change how the criminal justice system recognises and sentences tool theft. The central argument is that the impact of these crimes extends well beyond the financial value of the tools themselves. A stolen toolkit can mean missed contracts, lost earnings, damaged vehicles, increased insurance costs and significant emotional distress.
Where does the campaign stand in Parliament?
Amanda Martin formally introduced her Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons in April 2025. The proposal aims to ensure that sentencing reflects the wider harm caused by stealing tools of someone’s trade.
The campaign focuses on two important changes:
- Recognising the theft of tools of trade as an example of significant additional harm when courts assess the seriousness of an offence.
- Ensuring sentencing takes account of the wider financial consequences, including vehicle damage, lost earnings and business disruption, rather than simply the value of the stolen equipment.
The Bill has also attracted cross-party support, with MPs recognising the devastating consequences for tradespeople and small businesses.
The original Bill did not progress to its second reading and formally fell at the end of the 2024–26 parliamentary session, awaiting that stage. It did not become law in its original form.
Martin subsequently secured progress through the Government’s wider Sentencing Bill, which became the Sentencing Act 2026. During parliamentary consideration in January 2026, she highlighted the need for tougher consequences for repeat tool theft offenders. She explained that the new measures would allow stronger restrictions on offenders, including electronic tagging and restrictions on where they can go following release.
The distinction is important: the original Private Member’s Bill did not pass, but the wider campaign has helped secure changes through separate legislation. The specific proposal to name tool theft in sentencing guidance remains an important part of the campaign’s wider ambitions.
The BBC’s latest figures underline the scale of the problem
The urgency of Martin’s campaign has been reinforced by the BBC’s latest report, Traders’ tools stolen every 20 minutes in UK.
According to the BBC’s analysis, at least 26,164 tool thefts were recorded in 2025, based on information supplied by 30 police forces. This equates to a reported tool theft approximately every 20 minutes across the UK.
One business owner, Jon Jacznik of Drywall Contracts suffered three separate tool thefts in 18 months. He said: “One of our sites was broken into resulting in seven tool vaults being emptied. But the financial impact goes far beyond the tools stolen – there is the cost of replacing equipment, delays to work, lost productivity and the disruption of having to reorganise jobs. Even security equipment such as tool vaults can cost around £700 to replace.
“Whether it’s a van break-in or a site break-in, the impact on businesses and operatives is devastating. As an industry, we need a different approach because what we’re doing now clearly isn’t working.”
What needs to happen next?
While tougher sentencing is an important step, the market for stolen tools also needs to be addressed. FIS is looking to engage with Police Forces across the UK to see a greater emphasis placed on tool theft and how forensic marking on tools can play its part in driving down tool theft.
Jacznik believes that there are practical steps businesses and tradespeople can take to reduce the risk, such as trackers to help locate stolen equipment and support police investigations, security markings on tools and tool storage to help with identification and cross-checking if items are recovered and businesses and individuals should also be cautious about buying or accepting tools without chargers, or tools being sold separately from their usual equipment, as these could indicate the tool is stolen.
He also believes that the above measures need to be part of a wider security approach, not the only line of defence. Sites need appropriate, monitored alarm systems and secure tool storage to deter thieves.
These latest figures from the BBC provide a stark reminder that this is not an isolated problem affecting a handful of tradespeople. With more than 26,000 recorded thefts in a single year, the issue affects businesses, employees, families and the wider economy.
Tradespeople should be able to leave home to earn an honest living without worrying that, when they return, their livelihood will have been stolen.
