Police launch anti-vehicle theft campaign

A plan to cut the thousands of incidents of vehicle crime across the Thames Valley has been launched.

Launched by Thames Valley Police (TVP) and police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber, it seeks to make the region "hostile" to those who want to break into or steal vehicles.

In the 12 months to the end of August 2025, there were nearly 3,500 vehicle thefts and just over 6,500 thefts from vehicles in the region.

Despite that total being a 13.5% reduction on the year before, Barber insisted that was still too high.

Barber was speaking at a tool-marking event in Bracknell, Berkshire, where tradespeople could get equipment forensically coded to make it easier to trace and return if it is stolen.

Once applied, the liquid cannot be removed without damaging tools but a unique code will show up under ultraviolet light.

"There is a concern there that there's no point reporting [tool and vehicle crime] – nobody will do anything. That is not the case. We need to make sure that the police are addressing those concerns," Barber added.

"If these things aren't reported that's the stuff that the police definitely aren't able to tackle."

He added: "I don't just want the police to catch the people who are stealing tools, I want to stop the tools getting stolen in the first place."

According to research by the trade and DIY store Wickes, four in 10 tradespeople said they had suffered tool theft.

Simon Price, who runs a property maintenance business, had tools worth £7,000 stolen from his van when it was taken to a garage for a service.

"I think it's a fantastic idea," he said of the forensic tracing.

"I think if people mark their tools, I think they're still going to get stolen, but at least they will be returned more easily."

Just last week TVP was warning people in Oxfordshire of the risk of vehicle thefts and even took out a dispersal order to try and prevent it.