Tool theft
Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/25/008679/O
Version Date: 17/10/2025
The Performance & Analysis Department has provided the following information:
Data Processing:
Crimes recorded on crime information system – UNIFI
Cancelled crimes excluded, Non notifiable crimes excluded, Restricted crimes excluded
Qlikview Report: Crime and Enquiries Freetext Reports 2020 to 2022
Filtered by date: January 1st 2020 to November 14th 2022
Offence Group: Robbery, Burglary Dwelling, Burglary Non-Dwelling, Vehicle Offences, Theft from the Person, Shoplifting and All Other Theft Offences
Freetext search: ("* tool *" or "* tools *")
Crimes recorded on crime information system – NICHE
Cancelled crimes excluded, Non notifiable crimes excluded, Restricted crimes excluded
Qliksense Report: Crime and Outcomes
Filtered by date: April 1st 2020 to December 31st 2024
Offence Group: Robbery, Burglary - Residential, Burglary - Business and Community, Vehicle Offences, Theft from the Person, Shoplifting and Other Theft
Freetext search: * tool *
Qliksense Report: MO Text Search
Filtered by date: January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2024
Offence Group: Robbery, Burglary - Residential, Burglary - Business and Community, Vehicle Offences, Theft from the Person, Shoplifting and Other Theft
Freetext search: * tool *
Datasets were combined and duplicates removed.
Data Limitations:
- The Crime and Outcomes report only date back to April 1st 2020, data prior is unavailable in this report.
- Data in the MO Text Search report is limited prior to November 14th 2022.
- During our search, there were no crimes found in the MO report, prior to July 7th 2022.
- Devon and Cornwall transitioned to a new crime management system on November 14th 2022. As part of this transition, several reports became unavailable and/or redundant.
- The Crime and Enquiries report was one of the reports made unavailable. Any data obtained from this report is as of November 14th 2022 and will not contain any updates/reclassifications.
- The Crime and Enquiries report could not be recreated for years beyond November 14th 2022.
- Data is reliant on the presence of one of the keywords within the description/MO/Summary.
- Further to this, data is based on the presence of the keyword but may not be relevant to the request e.g. a tool being used during an offence would be included in the data due to the presence of the keyword but is not relevant to the request in that no tool was stolen.
Please provide data on all recorded theft offences between 1 January 2020 and the most recent available month in 2025 where the Modus Operandi (MO), item description, or any other searchable field contains the word “tool” or “tools”.
For each calendar year in this period, please provide:
1. The total number of such offences recorded.
Between January 1st 2020 and July 31st 2025, there were 3424 theft related offences found, which mentioned "tool" or "tools" within the MO/Summary.
Devon and Cornwall Police transitioned to a new crime management system on November 14th 2022. As a result of this transition, offence groups/offence descriptions/outcomes etc may have changed slightly in wording. As such, datasets from Unifi and Niche have been provided seperatley.
The following tables show the number of offences, broken down by offence group and year, which mentioned "tool" or "tools".
|
Offence Group (Unifi) |
2020 |
2021 |
2022* |
Total |
|
All Other Theft Offences |
82 |
61 |
52 |
195 |
|
Burglary Dwelling |
68 |
52 |
55 |
175 |
|
Burglary Non-Dwelling |
164 |
109 |
110 |
383 |
|
Robbery |
4 |
6 |
3 |
13 |
|
Shoplifting |
10 |
20 |
12 |
42 |
|
Vehicle Offences |
117 |
103 |
82 |
302 |
|
Total |
445 |
351 |
314 |
1110 |
*2022 data from Unifi consists of January 1st to November 14th.
|
Offence Group (Niche) |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025* |
Total |
|
Burglary - Business and Community |
91 |
122 |
128 |
98 |
121 |
73 |
633 |
|
Burglary - Residential |
24 |
35 |
44 |
99 |
113 |
62 |
377 |
|
Other Theft |
34 |
57 |
68 |
103 |
159 |
102 |
523 |
|
Robbery |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
|
Shoplifting |
3 |
24 |
14 |
28 |
27 |
17 |
113 |
|
Theft from the Person |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
|
Vehicle Offences |
68 |
116 |
109 |
155 |
126 |
80 |
654 |
|
Total |
220 |
354 |
364 |
490 |
549 |
337 |
2314 |
*2025 data consists of January 1st to July 31st.
- The offence type (e.g. burglary, theft from a vehicle, other theft).
Please see answer to question 1.
3. The broad location of the offence (e.g. town, city, or first half of postcode).
|
Sub Sector (Unifi) |
2020 |
2021 |
2022* |
Total |
|
Not recorded |
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
|
Ashburton & Buckfastleigh |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
Axminster |
5 |
5 |
7 |
17 |
|
Barnstaple |
18 |
19 |
16 |
53 |
|
Bideford |
7 |
8 |
7 |
22 |
|
Bodmin |
6 |
3 |
2 |
11 |
|
Bovey Tracey |
1 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
|
Braunton |
1 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
|
Brixham |
7 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
|
Bude |
2 |
5 |
1 |
8 |
|
Callington |
2 |
5 |
3 |
10 |
|
Camborne |
5 |
6 |
2 |
13 |
|
Camelford |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|
Chudleigh & Exminster |
8 |
3 |
2 |
13 |
|
Crediton |
8 |
8 |
5 |
21 |
|
Cullompton |
7 |
5 |
3 |
15 |
|
Dartmouth |
1 |
5 |
2 |
8 |
|
Dawlish |
3 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
|
Devonport |
10 |
7 |
8 |
25 |
|
Exeter |
25 |
24 |
32 |
81 |
|
Exmouth |
7 |
7 |
7 |
21 |
|
Falmouth |
13 |
9 |
4 |
26 |
|
Fowey, Lostwithiel & St Blazey |
2 |
|
4 |
6 |
|
Hayle |
4 |
3 |
2 |
9 |
|
Helston |
8 |
4 |
4 |
16 |
|
Holsworthy |
4 |
9 |
3 |
16 |
|
Honiton |
6 |
9 |
7 |
22 |
|
Ilfracombe |
5 |
2 |
5 |
12 |
|
Ivybridge |
12 |
6 |
2 |
20 |
|
Kingsbridge & Salcombe |
1 |
4 |
2 |
7 |
|
Launceston |
1 |
2 |
7 |
10 |
|
Liskeard |
4 |
|
8 |
12 |
|
Looe |
4 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
|
Lynton & Lynmouth |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Newquay |
9 |
7 |
6 |
22 |
|
Newton Abbot |
4 |
3 |
6 |
13 |
|
Okehampton |
7 |
4 |
5 |
16 |
|
Ottery St Mary & Cranbrook |
5 |
7 |
1 |
13 |
|
Paignton |
13 |
15 |
13 |
41 |
|
Parkway |
8 |
4 |
1 |
13 |
|
Penzance |
6 |
7 |
2 |
15 |
|
Perranporth |
2 |
6 |
5 |
13 |
|
Plymouth Central & University |
9 |
5 |
13 |
27 |
|
Plymouth City Centre & the Waterfront |
12 |
4 |
2 |
18 |
|
Plymouth East & Efford |
18 |
15 |
4 |
37 |
|
Plymouth North |
12 |
5 |
6 |
23 |
|
Plymouth West |
10 |
5 |
8 |
23 |
|
Plympton |
2 |
4 |
5 |
11 |
|
Redruth & Illogan |
8 |
9 |
6 |
23 |
|
Saltash |
8 |
2 |
3 |
13 |
|
Seaton & Sidmouth |
6 |
7 |
6 |
19 |
|
South Molton |
8 |
5 |
1 |
14 |
|
St Austell Rural |
9 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
|
St Austell Urban |
2 |
6 |
5 |
13 |
|
St Columb |
3 |
|
2 |
5 |
|
St Ives |
1 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
|
St. Budeaux |
9 |
1 |
3 |
13 |
|
Stonehouse |
6 |
4 |
1 |
11 |
|
Tavistock |
7 |
6 |
3 |
16 |
|
Teignmouth |
2 |
|
7 |
9 |
|
Tiverton |
18 |
6 |
3 |
27 |
|
Torpoint |
2 |
|
1 |
3 |
|
Torquay |
20 |
18 |
14 |
52 |
|
Torrington |
5 |
5 |
5 |
15 |
|
Totnes |
10 |
3 |
4 |
17 |
|
Truro |
10 |
10 |
9 |
29 |
|
Wadebridge |
3 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
|
Total |
445 |
351 |
314 |
1110 |
*2022 data from Unifi consists of January 1st to November 14th
|
Sub Sector (Niche) |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025* |
Total |
|
Not recorded |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
|
Ashburton & Buckfastleigh |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
13 |
|
Axminster |
1 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
24 |
|
Barnstaple |
6 |
20 |
16 |
23 |
16 |
14 |
95 |
|
Bideford |
7 |
3 |
12 |
13 |
8 |
7 |
50 |
|
Bodmin |
4 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
8 |
33 |
|
Bovey Tracey |
0 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
6 |
2 |
20 |
|
Braunton |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
11 |
|
Brixham |
3 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
16 |
|
Bude |
2 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
7 |
4 |
21 |
|
Callington |
0 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
15 |
|
Camborne |
4 |
7 |
7 |
2 |
7 |
4 |
31 |
|
Camelford |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
|
Chudleigh & Exminster |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
7 |
25 |
|
Crediton |
3 |
7 |
5 |
10 |
8 |
5 |
38 |
|
Cullompton |
13 |
12 |
7 |
16 |
7 |
7 |
62 |
|
Dartmouth |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
|
Dawlish |
1 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
9 |
4 |
25 |
|
Devonport |
10 |
14 |
10 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
57 |
|
Exeter |
18 |
19 |
23 |
26 |
37 |
27 |
150 |
|
Exmouth |
2 |
15 |
11 |
9 |
22 |
18 |
77 |
|
Falmouth |
5 |
5 |
11 |
14 |
10 |
3 |
48 |
|
Fowey, Lostwithiel & St Blazey |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
14 |
|
Hayle |
2 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
17 |
|
Helston |
4 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
19 |
|
Holsworthy |
1 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
5 |
24 |
|
Honiton |
6 |
6 |
4 |
9 |
6 |
1 |
32 |
|
Ilfracombe |
0 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
22 |
|
Isles of Scilly |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Ivybridge |
2 |
14 |
4 |
6 |
14 |
3 |
43 |
|
Kingsbridge & Salcombe |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
15 |
|
Launceston |
1 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
15 |
|
Liskeard |
1 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
22 |
|
Looe |
1 |
1 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
18 |
|
Lynton & Lynmouth |
1 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
|
Newquay |
4 |
7 |
7 |
13 |
16 |
3 |
50 |
|
Newton Abbot |
3 |
5 |
7 |
18 |
17 |
14 |
64 |
|
No Sub Sector Identified |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
10 |
2 |
14 |
|
Okehampton |
3 |
7 |
6 |
15 |
16 |
9 |
56 |
|
Ottery St Mary & Cranbrook |
3 |
2 |
8 |
11 |
7 |
4 |
35 |
|
Out of Force |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Paignton |
5 |
6 |
8 |
18 |
14 |
8 |
59 |
|
Parkway |
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
4 |
22 |
|
Penzance |
1 |
6 |
4 |
9 |
12 |
5 |
37 |
|
Perranporth |
3 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
19 |
|
Plymouth Central & University |
2 |
5 |
9 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
22 |
|
Plymouth City Centre & the Waterfront |
6 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
5 |
30 |
|
Plymouth East & Efford |
3 |
13 |
6 |
14 |
14 |
15 |
65 |
|
Plymouth North |
5 |
3 |
5 |
12 |
6 |
2 |
33 |
|
Plymouth West |
5 |
6 |
13 |
4 |
7 |
9 |
44 |
|
Plympton |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
18 |
|
Redruth & Illogan |
6 |
6 |
6 |
15 |
12 |
5 |
50 |
|
Saltash |
5 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
20 |
|
Seaton & Sidmouth |
3 |
2 |
6 |
9 |
6 |
7 |
33 |
|
South Molton |
2 |
13 |
7 |
5 |
9 |
7 |
43 |
|
St Austell Rural |
3 |
4 |
7 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
32 |
|
St Austell Urban |
3 |
16 |
5 |
11 |
14 |
5 |
54 |
|
St Columb |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
9 |
|
St Ives |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
|
St. Budeaux |
4 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
3 |
2 |
23 |
|
Stonehouse |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
17 |
|
Tavistock |
2 |
7 |
7 |
5 |
13 |
2 |
36 |
|
Teignmouth |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
0 |
17 |
|
Tiverton |
14 |
10 |
7 |
9 |
12 |
11 |
63 |
|
Torpoint |
1 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
17 |
|
Torquay |
13 |
15 |
16 |
26 |
27 |
15 |
112 |
|
Torrington |
4 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
2 |
30 |
|
Totnes |
2 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
8 |
5 |
28 |
|
Truro |
2 |
6 |
14 |
11 |
10 |
6 |
49 |
|
Unlinked / Missing Address |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Wadebridge |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
8 |
2 |
16 |
|
Total |
220 |
354 |
364 |
490 |
549 |
337 |
2314 |
*2025 data consists of January 1st to July 31st
- The recorded outcome (e.g. charge, arrest, no suspect identified).
|
Crime Outcome (Unifi) |
2020 |
2021 |
2022* |
Total |
|
ADDITIONAL VERIFIABLE INFORMATION DETERMINED NO NOTIFIABLE OFFENCE |
12 |
4 |
4 |
20 |
|
ADULT SIMPLE CAUTION |
5 |
3 |
0 |
8 |
|
CHARGED |
12 |
8 |
6 |
26 |
|
COMMITTED OUTSIDE THE JURISDICTION OF THE FORCE |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
COMMUNITY RESOLUTION |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
CONSTITUTES PART OF A CRIME ALREADY RECORDED |
5 |
5 |
5 |
15 |
|
CRIME INVESTIGATED AS FAR AS REASONABLY POSSIBLE. NO SUSPECT IDENTIFIED |
291 |
187 |
82 |
560 |
|
FORMAL ACTION AGAINST THE OFFENDER NOT IN PUBLIC INTEREST (POLICE) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
|
FURTHER INVESTIGATION AGAINST A NAMED SUSPECT IS NOT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST - POLICE DECISION |
4 |
3 |
2 |
9 |
|
NAMED SUSPECT IDENTIFIED: EVIDEN.DIFFICULTIES VIC.NOT SUPPORTING ACTION |
11 |
7 |
3 |
21 |
|
NAMED SUSPECT IDENTIFIED: VIC.SUPPORTS ACTION EVIDENTIAL DIFFICULTIES |
65 |
34 |
6 |
105 |
|
NAMED SUSPECT TOO ILL (MENTALLY OR PHYSICALLY) TO PROSECUTE |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
PATHFINDER - DEFERRED CAUTION |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
PATHFINDER - DEFERRED CHARGE |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
POSTAL REQUISITIONED |
17 |
12 |
1 |
30 |
|
PROSECUTION NOT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST (CPS) (ALL OFFENCES) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
PROSECUTION TIME LIMIT EXPIRED: SUSPECT IDENTIFIED |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
RECORDED AS A CRIME IN ERROR |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
UNDER INVESTIGATION |
10 |
78 |
201 |
289 |
|
VICTIM DECLINES/UNABLE TO SUPPORT POLICE INVESTIGATION. NO SUSPECT |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|
VICTIM IS AWARE THAT FURTHER ACTION WILL BE UNDERTAKEN BY ANOTHER BODY/ AGENCY |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
VICTIM/KEY WITNESS IS DEAD OR TOO ILL TO GIVE EVIDENCE - NAMED SUSPECT |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
YOUTH CONDITIONAL CAUTION |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
|
Total |
445 |
351 |
314 |
1110 |
*2022 data from Unifi consists of January 1st to November 14th
Please note that the following table is comprised of two datasets from two sources of Niche data. As such, a few of the outcomes are duplicated due to slightly different wording.
|
Crime Outcome (Niche) |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025* |
Total |
|
1: Charged |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
10: Police - formal action not in public interest |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
13: Named suspect but victim/key witness deceased or too ill |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
14: Victim declines/unable to support action to identify offender |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
9 |
|
15: Police - named suspect, victim supports but evidential difficulties |
0 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
10 |
2 |
23 |
|
16: Victim declines/withdraws support - named suspect identified |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
|
18: Investigation complete no suspect identified |
0 |
0 |
18 |
100 |
88 |
49 |
255 |
|
20: Other body/agency has investigation primacy |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
21: Police - named suspect, investigation not in the public interest |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
8: Community resolution |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Action Against Suspect Not in Public Interest |
4 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
18 |
|
Adult Caution |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Charged/Summonsed |
8 |
9 |
7 |
10 |
22 |
5 |
61 |
|
Community Resolution |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
|
Diversionary, educational or intervention activity |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Evidential Difficulties - Victim Declines |
1 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
13 |
20 |
45 |
|
Investigation Complete: No Suspect - Case Closed |
183 |
305 |
302 |
285 |
330 |
193 |
1598 |
|
Investigation Ongoing |
1 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
9 |
21 |
44 |
|
New |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
No Crime |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
10 |
11 |
29 |
|
Not in the Public Interest - CPS |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Not in the Public Interest - Police |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
8 |
|
Pending CSU Outcome |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Prosecution Time Limit Expired |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Suspect Identified - Evidential Difficulties |
20 |
29 |
20 |
30 |
24 |
13 |
136 |
|
Suspect too Ill |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Taken into Consideration |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Victim no Support |
2 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
20 |
9 |
50 |
|
Total |
220 |
354 |
364 |
490 |
549 |
337 |
2314 |
*2025 data consists of January 1st to July 31st
- If available, the total estimated value of tools reported stolen.
No information held. This information is not recorded.