Dear [INSERT NAME OF MP] 

I would like to bring to your attention a national crime wave that is affecting a great many trades people, causing many to go out of business or suffer mental health problems. The crime is tool theft, and it takes place mostly at night from vans.

Following a petition from nearly half a million tradespeople. The Home Office has looked into ways of tackling this crime and consulted with police forces but, despite this, it is on the increase and it seems very little is being done to stop it.

Part of the problem is that the stolen tools are being sold openly at markets and car boot sales and the police seem reluctant or powerless to prevent it. The crime of handling stolen goods used to carry a prison sentence, but it seems to have been downgraded so those selling the tools have nothing to fear.

The sellers of these tools need to be challenged to prove that they have legitimate rights to them. If the law prohibits such a challenge, then the law needs to be changed. The sellers of these tools should be able to produce purchase documents to validate their purchase from legitimate sources and if they can’t the assumption must be that they are stolen.

Quite apart from the huge cost and distress to the victims of this crime it is also being used to finance drug dealing.

At a time when we are trying to encourage and train young people to join the building industry the loss of tools serves a devastating blow to those people who are working hard to make an honest living. Many of the victims have been robbed several times and are no longer able to obtain insurance. They deserve better from the forces of law and order and from their elected representatives.

I sincerely hope that you will take up the issue with The Home Secretary and our local police force to see what more can be done to tackle this crime.

Yours sincerely