Deter thieves | Protect Livelihoods

You can read more about the campaign by downloading the PCC’s pocket guide on preventing tool theft here

For tradespeople, tools are more than equipment, they are your livelihood.

When criminals steal tools, the impact can be immediate and devastating. Jobs are cancelled, income is lost and families face unnecessary financial pressure.

That is why Jonathan Ash-Edwards has launched Project Trace: Hands Off Our Tools a countywide campaign to help tradespeople and residents better protect their tools and equipment.

The campaign combines practical crime prevention advice, free forensic marking kits and targeted enforcement to deter offenders and support police investigations.

1,000 Free Forensic Marking Kits Available

As part of the campaign, the PCC is providing 1,000 free SelectaDNA forensic marking kits to Hertfordshire residents and tradespeople. Get a kit sent to you.

Each kit can mark up to 50 tools and items of equipment meaning that by the end of the campaign up to 50,000 tools and items of equipment will have been forensically marked across Hertfordshire. We want to send a clear message to would-be thieves; if you target hardworking people in Hertfordshire, you will be caught and you will face the consequences.

The unique forensic solution contains a microscopic DNA code linked to you and your property. If stolen tools are recovered, police can trace them back to their rightful owner. The technology also makes stolen tools much harder for criminals to sell on.

The kits help to:

· Deter thieves

· Identify stolen property

· Support police investigations

· Increase the likelihood of tools being returned

· Reduce the resale value of stolen equipment

Tool Marking Roadshows

The PCC is holding a series of early-morning roadshows outside builders' merchants across the county, where tradespeople can:

· Collect a free forensic marking kit

· Get practical crime prevention advice

· Speak to police officers and crime prevention specialists

Upcoming Dates

20 May – Borehamwood Screwfix

22 May – Hertford Screwfix

1 June – Hemel Hempstead Selco

4 June – Hoddesdon Screwfix

8 June – Welwyn Garden City Screwfix

NEW DATES ANNOUNCED...

22 June - St Albans Toolstation

23 June - Harpenden Jewson

29 June - Stevenage Screwfix

30 June - Watford Toolstation (Wiggenhall Road)

Time: 7am to 9am

Working Together to Protect Hertfordshire Tradespeople

Project Trace forms part of the PCC's wider work to tackle retail crime, theft and repeat offending using practical prevention measures and new technology.

By working together, we can make Hertfordshire a harder place for criminals to operate and a safer place for hardworking people to earn a living.