Hampshire Police crackdown on county-wide tool theft
Police have arrested four people and seized hundreds of items in a county-wide crackdown on tool thefts. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said since August it had more than 100 reports of vans being broken into and tools being stolen. Officers found a large haul of stolen tools on 30 November at a market stall in West London.
The four people who were arrested have since been released on bail and police investigations are ongoing. The force is in the process of reuniting owners with any stolen tools it has found. A Hampshire Police spokesperson said: “Offences are primarily concentrated around the east of the county and up the A3 corridor, taking place when it’s dark in the evenings or overnight, but we have seen offences all over Hampshire.”
A 60-year-old man from Surrey and a 24-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal from a motor vehicle. Also arrested were a 26-year-old man from Bedfordshire, on suspicion of theft, and a 26-year-old man from Buckinghamshire on suspicion of handling stolen goods. They have all now been released on bail.
Police said to limit the risk of theft people can mark tools so they can be easily returned, remove them from vehicles overnight, and use small cameras to record within vehicles.
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