#Novanber - Our Top Tips on Van Security
Havwoods Accessories is supporting the #noVANber campaign to fight for more action to be taken to tackle van and tool theft. As part of the campaign, a petition has been launched calling for the government to investigate what more can be done to prevent van and tool theft and to urge harsher penalties on those who commit these offences.
We know that for many of you, your van is your livelihood, so someone breaking in and stealing your tools or even the van itself is probably your worst nightmare and something you’d rather not think about.
Statistics
Van and tool theft is a huge problem in the UK – we know this – but seeing actual statistics really shows the extent of the issue…
- In 2017, the average value of theft claims rose to £1,692, which was an increase of £253 from the year before.
- 50% of tradespeople who’ve experienced tool theft couldn’t work the next day, with some workers having to take a fortnight off.
- Being unable to work costs 50% of tradespeople at least £500.
- 75% of reported vehicle thefts are closed without identifying a suspect.
- Tool theft costs Britain’s tradespeople nearly £100 million a year.
Our top tips
There are many steps you can take to secure your van and prevent this from happening to you. We’ve pulled out our top tips to help you…
This might be an obvious one but think about how many times you leave your van unlocked whilst loading and unloading or even just to nip into the shop or the petrol station – this is enough time for someone to break in and could potentially have a huge impact on your business.
A great, cost effective way of stopping thieves in their tracks. If you live in a built-up area and someone tries to break into your van, chances are, the sound of the alarm will alert someone and scare away the perpetrator. Alarm systems are also a great deterrent and reduce the chances of your van being targeted in the first place.
This is a tricky one. No one wants to unload and load tools into the van every day, we know it’s much easier just to store them in the van overnight and be ready to go in the morning, but the small amount of time you spend doing this could save you from falling victim to van thieves.
Think about where you park your van – day and night! Don’t be fooled into thinking thieves only work at night, your van is vulnerable 24/7 so make sure you park it somewhere you can see during the day. Try to park in a well-lit area at night, ideally on a driveway or garage to put thieves off completely. If the garage is too tight to park the van inside, reverse right up to the wall instead as a barrier to prevent thieves being able to prise open and gain entry through the back doors. If you can box the sides in with an adjacent wall or another vehicle even better.
A partition between the cab and content of your van not only serves as a security purpose by blocking site of tools you have stored in your van but also makes it harder for people to break in from the front. Partitions are also great safety features stopping anything from hitting the front of the van if you have to break hard.
Although it’s a great marketing tool to get your business name out there, branding on your van can also advertise the fact that it’s probably full of tools and expensive supplies. Make sure you think about the pros and cons of branding your van beforehand.
In the unfortunate event that your van is stolen, having a satellite tracking system installed will increase your chances of locating it faster and getting it back with all your tools intact.
Taking extra security measures both internally and externally can stop thieves from taking your tools even if they do manage to break into your van. By investing in clamps and heavy duty fixtures your tools and machinery can be secured, making them difficult to remove. Heavy duty storage systems can be secured to the van floor and used to store more awkward tools that are impractical to keep shifting in and out of the van; we can supply the armorgard tuffbank van box (product code: SKU – TB1) which sets the industry benchmark for quality.
The ultimate aim is to make your van appear as uninviting as possible, don’t present yourself as an easy target! Thieves don’t like hassle and simple precautions can prevent break-ins.
We regularly hear about customers’ vans being broken into and see the affects that it has on their business. Please join us in signing this petition to help make a change – click here to sign.
