Published: 27 Aug 2025
Equipment theft continues to be an ongoing challenge for survey companies across the country, with several particular hot spots identified in a number of regions. Encouraged by the police and Detertech, we continue to urge absolutely everyone who is affected by this type of crime to report any instance of theft or attempted theft via our website.
We are delighted to report that we have seen some successes when it comes to the recovery of stolen items. It was also very pleasing to see the theft of survey equipment being included in the Theft of Tools Trade Bill debate in the House of Commons earlier in the summer.
Our CEO Rachel Tyrrell has also been in correspondence regarding addressing this challenge with Shadow Cabinet Minister Louie French, Member of Parliament for Old Bexley and Sidcup, with the promise of a meeting with him and the lead officer in the Met Police who is working on the issue. Mr French is leading the charge to make sentences tougher for those who steal essential equipment and it is really encouraging to see this problem being taken seriously at parliamentary level.
The Survey Association is also looking to formally support the work of NCATT (National Construction and Agriculture Theft Team), which is run by Northumbria Police. NCATT has already spoken at various TSA events and has supported individual survey companies in the immediate aftermath of equipment theft too.
In addition to all this work being carried out behind the scenes, it is vitally important that all thefts or attempted thefts are reported. This is so that the accurate weight of evidence can be brought to unlock funding and effective action.
Reporting a crime could not be easier, as TSA’s website has a Report a Theft button on the dedicated Equipment Theft page, which automatically generates all the prompts to fill in all the required information that the police require, making it effective and efficient. You can even report historic thefts in this way too.
