Reducing the risk of theft from tradesmen’s and delivery vehicles

All the signs are now here – Christmas is definitely coming, and who’s to say whether a sudden lockdown will put paid to people’s plans to go out to the shops and do their Christmas shopping out there in the real world?

Then again, over the past year and a half people have become so used to ordering online and expecting front-door delivery that’s going to be what many Christmas shoppers will be doing anyway – lockdown or no lockdown.

Either way, the delivery business is booming, and with companies calling out for more and more delivery drivers, many of those new drivers will have had different careers before the pandemic. 

This means they won’t have much in the way of delivery driving experience, may well be running just a bit behind schedule and therefore could be somewhat distracted. So they could present easy pickings to eagle-eyed opportunistic thieves – whether that’s sneaking parcels out of open side doors … or even sneaking into the van’s cabin and driving off.

But it’s not just harassed and inexperienced delivery drivers at risk from vehicle break-ins: tradesmen’s vans have long been a target for thieves, or to be more precise, their contents. Tools of the trade can sell surprisingly well on the black market, while being time-consuming and very expensive for their previous owners to replace. And the time taken to replace them means time away from work and therefore a secondary loss of income.

So whether you’re a tradesperson, or an independent delivery driver or even the owner of a fleet of delivery vans, now more than ever you need to make sure your van – or fleet – is thoroughly protected against cargo and vehicle theft, and here are some of the physical security devices we can install for you to help you do just that:

Deadlocks: The most common security upgrades for the majority of vans in the UK, deadlocks are made up of two parts – one being a bolt fitted to the van cabin door and the other being the receiving bracket fitted to the van’s internal body.

Hook Locks: These work in the same way as deadlocks, but instead of a straight bolt, a hook lock clips securely into the receiving bracket.

Slam Locks: Specially for couriers and multi-drop drivers – once the van door is slammed shut it automatically locks and can only be opened using a dedicated key. One advantage of a slam lock is that it’s completely disconnected to the vehicle’s central locking system, so if one door fitted with a slam lock is open, all the other van doors remain securely locked.

Statement Locks: Mounted on the outside of vehicle doors, these are both effective visual deterrents and also independent deadlocks. If installed high up on a door, they offer more protection against thieves trying to bend the door down.

Loom Guards: These protect the vulnerable areas of the van where thieves can gain access to the wiring loom, which they can tamper with to disable the central locking system and break into the vehicle that way.

Slamhandles: These are replacement door handles offering not just a form of visual deterrence like statement locks, but also offer the safety and security of slam locks, locking automatically when the door is shut, and only unlockable with a dedicated key.

Handle Shields: These also act as visible deterrents as well as protecting against door handles being spiked or ripped off for access to internal door mechanisms. They can also cover any existing damage caused by previous attempts at breaking in.

Anti-Peel Brackets: “Peel and steal” is becoming increasingly popular because it’s such an easy way to get into vans through their sliding doors – and all without setting off the alarm system. These brackets stop this kind of theft by preventing the initial bending of the side door which enables a thief to “peel” it.

Interior Handle Release Guards: These provide anti-spike shielding to prevent access to the door’s interior mechanism through a combination of internal and external parts.

Internal Latch Shields: Many van break-ins occur when the thief punctures the door skin and gains access to the internal latching and unlatching mechanisms, and internal latch shields provide protection against this kind of attack.

External Shielding: While internal latch shields are installed inside the vehicle door, external shielding protects against the thief’s puncturing of the door from the outside. These are available in different shapes and sizes, depending on the type of vehicle and shape of its doors.

And although not strictly keeping vehicles and their contents secure, these are equally important now thieves are targeting the precious metals in catalytic converters:

Cat Guards: Heavy-duty shields for catalytic converters, fixed together using shear bolts and chassis-mounted using high-security stainless steel cables.

New security devices are coming onto the market all the time, so when you read this we may well have many more than just those physical devices listed here in stock. Speak to our customer service team, who’ll be pleased to talk you through selecting the most suitable protection for your vehicle and its contents, whether devices like those listed above, or the sophisticated alarm, immobiliser and GPS systems we also carry.

We can equip a single van – or even a whole fleet – with the most appropriate security devices in any of our London or Milton Keynes workshops (and don’t forget, if there’s ever an issue with your vehicle keys, we’re less than an hour away from anywhere in London and the Home Counties, and can deal with any type of key problem then and there by the roadside).  

When you think of the potential loss of vehicle, loss of cargo or loss of clientele, making your unprotected – or even only partially protected – vehicle much more secure is definitely a worthwhile investment. And with our many years of experience of fitting the highest quality security products and systems we’re just the people to do that for you for a minimal outlay, with minimal downtime – in order to provide maximum security. 

Call our customer service team now to discuss your requirements, and then arrange an installation appointment so you can drive away confident that your van – or fleet – is now so much better protected than it was before.