Crime in Lincoln district: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (5,475), anti-social behaviour (3,789) and shoplifting (2,379) made up 70% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 9th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the highest tenth.

Recorded crime in Lincoln district peaked in the year to August 2020 (18,326 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2018 (15,570). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 7%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, Lincoln district recorded notably more bicycle theft (3.2 times the national rate), shoplifting (2.7 times the national rate) and anti-social behaviour (2.3 times the national rate), and notably less theft from the person (79% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 141 to 236 and vehicle crime rose from 285 to 423, while other crime fell from 385 to 267 and theft from the person fell from 45 to 38.

What each category covers: crime categories.

12,257 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in Lincoln district in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 116.6 per 1,000 residents, higher than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, Lincoln district had the 17th highest rate (the street-level ranking above is among the 302 districts with street-level pages on this site, over the 12 months to August 2026).

No change on the year or longer series is given for Lincoln district: comparable figures start in the year ending March 2026, because the share of crimes in the Lincolnshire Police area not assigned to a district moved from 1.7% in the year ending March 2025 to 0.1% in the year ending March 2026, which changes district totals without any change in crime.

Offences recorded in Lincoln district, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was shoplifting, with 2,358 offences (19% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for shoplifting (2.8 times the national rate), arson (2.4 times the national rate) and bicycle theft (2.2 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for theft from the person (0.17 times), vehicle offences (0.67 times) and possession of drugs (0.67 times).

Districts in the Lincolnshire Police area, the year ending March 2026

Of the 7 districts in the Lincolnshire Police area with a figure for the year ending March 2026, Lincoln district had the highest rate.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables (released 23 July 2026), gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0. Financial years, excluding fraud; how they differ from the street-level figures: methodology.

Lincoln district has a higher crime rate than all 8 of its nearest districts.

Of the 12 areas within Lincoln district, Abbey had the highest crime rate (324.5 per 1,000) and Witham the lowest (63.3), 5 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 30% of the crime recorded in Lincoln district over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Supermarket” (1,800).

Of the 12,915 crimes in Lincoln district with a recorded outcome, 29% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 7.7% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 3,789 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

Lincoln district has an estimated population of 105,114 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has more students (18.6%, against 7.9%), more private renting (27%, against 20%) and more social housing (21%, against 17%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up Lincoln district average decile 4.1 (1 = most deprived), more deprived than average.

Police-recorded crime from data.police.uk (September 2017 to August 2026), ONS population estimates and Census 2021. Definitions and limitations: methodology.