Tool theft: What do the politicians think?
On the ground at last month's tool theft rally, kbbreview tracked down two Westminster MPs who each gave their candid opinions about tool theft, and outlined the potential solutions, in their own words
Matt Vickers – Shadow Minister of Crime, Police and Fire
What is it you’re out here to do? Are you supportive of the rally?
I’m hugely supportive! My dad’s a builder, my brother’s a builder, so I get what it is when people go out to work early in the morning, get to their van, and everything’s gone. The cost of the damages, the cost to replace the tools, the day’s work that they lose, it’s got a huge impact on the lives of people. And those people – the ones running the small businesses – they’re the ones that our economy is built on. Literally.
Have members of your own family been impacted by tool theft?
Several times. The stats are saying that in Saddiq Khan’s London, tool theft is up 60%. It’s a hugely growing problem, and it’s an average of 1 every 12 minutes. There was a bill that went through just before the election, it’ll make the people who produce the tools up their game by putting markers on them, they’ll probably have to put immobiliers on. But it’s just been sat on someone’s desk for six months. Get on with it!
We need to make sure people can’t turn up in broad daylight at a car boot sale and sell stuff they’ve stolen from a tradesman who’s grafted to earn that. It’s a horrendous thing with real, real consequences for livelihoods – and our economy.
If you were in the Labour government’s position, what would you do today to help resolve this for these tradespeople?
I’ll tell you what I’d do, I’d get that bill that’s prepared that’s been in the house, and I’d get it signed off and put it into action.
What do you think’s holding it up? If anything?
I really don’t know. I really don’t. They must just not see the impact it’s having on people’s lives.
Which I suppose this tool theft rally will help with, to raise awareness for what’s going on. Speaking of, do you think the general public outside of the trade have an idea of the scale of this problem?
I don’t think they do. And I think even the police need to look at this as a priority. It’s something that has a huge impact on these people and their families – these guys who are going out and trying to earn their keep, and pay for their families. I just feel like it’s misunderstood, it’s not a big enough priority in government.
But these guys are doing a great job of raising awareness, and trying to get Westminster to hear what they’ve got to say. There’s also a problem with regionalisation. There’s areas of the country where it seems worse than others, particularly here in London. We need those trading standards people out at car boot sales. Those people shouldn’t be able to just rock up and sell stuff that they’ve stolen.
Especially considering it’s usually all laid out on a blanket in front of their stall. You’d think something like that would make it easy to prosecute.
It’s an open goal, and we need to get on with it. There’s no reason not to be doing it. All the measures in that bill will help us identify who’s got that kit, and then we need to deal with these car boot sales and hold people to account.
Do you think the police are doing enough to combat this as well?
There’s always the debate about what the police are doing. I do think they could be doing more on this, and have it be seen as the priority that it is. It’s not “just” a theft, it’s a theft that means people can’t get out there and do their jobs. I think theft in general is a big issue as well, but this has real consequences for these guys, and it’s huge. The police need to recognise that as a priority and get on top of that.
Amanda Martin – Labour MP for Portsmouth North
How important is the issue of tool theft for the Labour government? I spoke with the shadow minister this morning, and he seemed to think it wasn’t a big priority for the current government at all.
The previous government, to be entirely fair to them, did put through a law around marking up tools, making them more difficult to sell, but unfortunately that’s not a complete solution because they’re still being sold at car boot sales and pubs. So we need to stop people selling them entirely, and I think one of the ways we’re doing that is by raising awareness for the real human impact of tool theft.
It’s not just about knicking someone’s toolbox or a drill. It’s about their livelihoods and being able to do their job. It’s about their reputation. It’s about their families, and the mental health element of this is huge. The suicide rates in this profession are going up. And it’s really not good enough. As a government, we absolutely recognise the value of tradespeople. If we want to build the 1.5 million houses and get this country moving and get our economy growing, we are reliant on these people here today.
So when you say that, what are some of the specific things you’ve done for tradespeople like the ones here today?
Well, we are looking at various things. So I also held a Westminster tool debate on elevating the status of trades, which was all about trying to encourage more young people to go into that profession – girls and boys. Also, looking at apprenticeships, why is the leaving rate so massive? We’ve raised the apprenticeship salary for people, and we’re looking at changing the length of apprenticeships, so that’s reducing them to three months, six months or 12 months, so people can get a modular education. Because that can be a long time, particularly if you’re older, and you’ve got family commitments, how are you going to survive on that money for a whole year?
Particularly if you’ve already had experience on sites and in the industry, you do need skills. And it’s really important that these people are properly trained and have these skills, because it shouldn’t be cheap labour. So we’ve got the education skills fund, but we’re also looking at how we can encourage more people to come into the trade.
If you’re trying to get more people into this sector, do you think issues like tool theft might make people hesitant to jump in feet first?
My worry is, issues like this put people off. But actually what we need to do is show for every single one of those tools stolen, there’s a real impact, and we need to make people think twice about buying that stuff. And also talking with the police, I went out on the beat with my local constabulary on Friday, and I don’t think tool theft cases are logged the same in every constabulary.
I’ve heard sometimes the crime itself is listed as theft, and sometimes it’s something like burglary…
Absolutely – and sometimes it’s even logged as organised crime! We had a spate of organised crime in the city, where a van would drive in with false license plates, drill into vans and get tools, and then drive out again. But we need this all to be listed the same everywhere, or else we wont get to see the real size of this problem.
A lot of the tradespeople I’ve spoken to today told me they don’t even want to report a tool theft, because of insurance...
That’s right, and sometimes insurance companies don’t always pay back the full sum of those tools. And also, I hear so many stories – one tradesperson told me he was using tools passed down from his grandad before they were stolen. And it’s terrible because beyond just the financial side of this, those personal things just can’t be replaced.
So, to make it clear, would you say tool theft is a priority for the labour government?
It’s a priority of mine, and I’m a labour MP! I’ve raised it, and we’ve got a survey together that we’re hoping people will sign, whether you’re in the trade or just a member of the public. I’m encouraging people to go along to their own MPs to lobby about this across the country. We’re also setting up events where people can go along and connect with MPs, so they can talk with people who have been subject to this, but also so we can find out what can be done on a personal level to help.