Owners of vans may be interested to read about some concerning statistics relating to the theft of vans here in the UK. The research was published back in October last year by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

Apparently, in the four years to 2018/2019, there were 32,056 vans stolen here in the UK. There were 9,371 vans reported stolen in the last twelve months of that four year period. Of that later figure, 4,777 were stolen in the Metropolitan police area – equating to 50.97%.

The biggest increase in percentage terms in van thefts on a year on year basis between 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 was seen in the Leicestershire police force area with a rise of 843%. Van thefts rose from 40 to 377.

West Yorkshire police force area saw van thefts rise from 557 to 931 during the same periods – an increase of 67%.

Interestingly, in West Midlands police force area, there was a reduction in the number of vans stolen during the same periods from 1,505 to 409 – a fall of 73%. There was a small drop in the number of vans stolen in Surrey police force area during the same periods from 210 to 208 – a reduction of 1%.

So, if you are the owner of a van, what may you be able to do to reduce the possibility of your commercial vehicle being stolen? Well, you may wish to ensure it is fitted with an alarm, engine immobilizer and tracker. You may wish to have the windows etched with the vehicle registration number. You could fit a steering wheel lock when it is parked. When it comes to parking the vehicle whilst doing a job, you could try to park it on the drive of the customer you are carrying out some work at. At home, you could also park it on your drive or, if this is not an option, park it on the street under a street light. You could also try to park your van where it is covered by a CCTV camera.

You will no doubt be aware that it is a legal requirement to insure your van unless it is declared SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) and kept off the public road network. When arranging suitable van insurance you may wish to check that the insurer you select has a good record when it comes to dealing with claims on your behalf.