Van trackers for trades and fleets

Tools kept in trade and company vans are a regular target for thieves, according to Secured by Design, whose advice comes from officers across the UK police service. It warns that thieves often come back to the same tradesperson or business once the tools have been replaced.

Getting a stolen van back

The police initiative's guidance for vans puts fitting a tracker on its list of steps, because it can raise the odds of recovery. Many of these systems become active after the van is taken, and locate it through GPS and other systems.

The same advice covers the van itself. It suggests theft-resistant number plate fittings, because thieves use stolen plates to disguise stolen vehicles. A steering wheel lock, a lock over the gear lever or a box over the pedals still puts thieves off, and a garage keeps the van out of view.

Keys and ignition fobs belong out of sight and out of reach, never left in the van, even for a moment.

Tracking a van that someone else drives

The Information Commission (which took over from the ICO on 30 September 2026) has guidance on monitoring workers. It says employers may monitor work vehicles. It also sets out what the law requires of them.

• Employers must inform workers and passengers of any vehicle monitoring.
• Where workers may use the van privately, the Information Commission says an employer will rarely be able to justify monitoring during that private use. Its example is a tracking system the driver can switch off outside working hours.
• Covert monitoring, where workers are unaware of it, is unlikely to be justified in most usual circumstances.
• Watching driving behaviour and style, or using cameras or audio, is harder to justify. An employer doing this must carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA), and should consider whether a less intrusive method would do.

Black boxes fitted for a fleet insurance policy record the activities of drivers. The Information Commission treats that data as personal information under data protection law, and an insurer handling it has duties of its own.

Tachographs are separate. Some employers have a legal duty to use them, to record driving time, speed and distance for the drivers' hours rules.

The Information Commission is reviewing this guidance because of changes made by the Data (Use and Access) Act.

Picking a device and telling the insurer

Thatcham Research runs a certification programme for vehicle security products and lists certified products in a database that can be searched by vehicle type. Recognition by an insurer is a separate step. Thatcham says each product's manufacturer negotiates it with insurer partners, so a fleet operator should ask the insurer which devices it recognises before relying on one for cover.

When a van is taken

GOV.UK's steps for any stolen vehicle begin with a call to the local police on 101 and a call to the insurer. The crime reference number from the police is the one the insurer will want.

Useful links

• Employment practices and data protection: monitoring workers (Information Commission)
• Monitoring work vehicles and other methods (Information Commission)
• Data protection and monitoring workers (Information Commission)
• Vans and tool theft (Secured by Design)
• Thatcham security certifications (Thatcham Research)
• What to do if your vehicle has been stolen (GOV.UK)