Posted on 02/03/2025 5:25:20 AM PST by RandFan
A Kent roofer who had £3,000 ($3.6k) worth of tools stolen in the time it took to buy a coffee is backing calls for tougher penalties for thieves.
Dennis Richardson, from Maidstone, said: "We were out of sight for a couple of minutes at a coffee shop.
"I've got a family, and we've got to eat, we've got to pay bills. To suddenly have to find £3,000 ($3.6k) is not easy," he said.
The government said it would continue to work with the police "to explore ways to tackle tool theft, ensure justice for victims, and punish criminals".
A bill is going through Parliament, tabled by a Hampshire MP, which seeks to impose harsher sentencing for tool thieves.
Mr Richardson, who works across the South East, and whose van was targeted in Dulwich, south-east London, said: "I would say they had followed me down that road.
"Every single power tool had been stolen."
He said: "I stay away from certain areas of London now. It's restricted the jobs I want to take."
He joined a rally in Parliament Square on Monday, where campaigners demanded greater enforcement.
Paul Saunderson-Barker, a plumber from Sussex, who also attended the rally, said he was left "devastated" after his van was broken into.
He told the BBC: "They stole power tools and a thermal imaging camera. I had over £6,000 ($7.2k) of equipment stolen."
He said: "Other self employed traders locally have rallied around to help me."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
There are too many to investigate
The way it works is people just get a “crime number” from the police for their insurance company and make a claim.
The days of the copper attending a burglary i.e a house or commercial premises (whatever) and actually doing something about it are gone.
What we need is either private police or a 2nd amendment and let citizens deal with it
I dont see either happening for now!
Once two strangers climbed ol' Rocky Top
Lookin' for a moonshine still
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top
Reckon they never will
There. Fixed it for you.
London does have a crime problem. Overpopulated and ‘gangs’ operate easily be it theft , drugs whatever.
What’s strange is how organized it is they will pinch your phone and it’ll be shipped to God knows where the same afternoon
“You would think with all the CCTV now they would catch these thieves but I doubt they even have the manpower”
Dulwich is a fairly affluent suburb that is about five miles south of the center of London.
The modern version of that is Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road.
Tool theft is a big problem.
Tradesmen should probably engrave their first name or business name (and say a four-digit number for tracing) on them to reduce their resale value and to make it easier to see that they are stolen.
Fixed it for you...
“You would think with all the CCTV now they would catch these thieves but I doubt they even have the manpower”
More like “available manpower” as pretty much all of their manpower is dedicated with jailing Brits who disagree with government policies, particularly on Population Replacement.
3,000 pounds = $3,600? So, 1 pound = $1.20. When I was stationed in England that would've been a dream come true exchange rate. Back then it was about 1 pound = $2.50, sometimes more.
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