Crime in West Lindsey: statistics, rates and trends

Violence and sexual offences (2,998), anti-social behaviour (1,800) and criminal damage and arson (757) made up 68% of all recorded crime. Its crime rate ranks 167th of the 302 districts covered by this site (1 = highest), in the lower half.

Recorded crime in West Lindsey peaked in the year to August 2022 (8,236 crimes) and was lowest in the year to August 2018 (6,870). Between the years to August 2018 and 2026 it rose 19%, while across England and Wales it fell 4%.

Month by month

Compared with England and Wales, West Lindsey recorded notably more other crime (36% above the national rate), and notably less bicycle theft (66% below) and drugs (65% below). On the year before, robbery rose from 39 to 60 and shoplifting rose from 542 to 691, while burglary fell from 408 to 322 and drugs fell from 143 to 115.

What each category covers: crime categories.

6,155 crimes, excluding fraud, were recorded by the police in West Lindsey in the year ending March 2026, according to the Home Office's police recorded crime statistics. That is 62.0 per 1,000 residents, lower than the England and Wales rate of 83.2. Among the 272 districts of England and Wales with a figure for that year, West Lindsey had the 89th lowest 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 West Lindsey: 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 West Lindsey, the year ending March 2026

The largest category was violence without injury, with 925 offences (15% of the total). Relative to England and Wales, rates were highest for arson (3.0 times the national rate). Rates were lowest relative to the national rate for possession of drugs (0.28 times), bicycle theft (0.32 times) and robbery of personal property (0.44 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, West Lindsey had the 4th 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.

7 of the 8 nearest districts have a higher crime rate than West Lindsey; the highest is Lincoln district (158.9 per 1,000) and the lowest North Kesteven (54.8).

Of the 41 areas within West Lindsey, Gainsborough South-West had the highest crime rate (364.0 per 1,000) and Sudbrooke the lowest (11.2), 33 times apart.

The 10 locations below account for 20% of the crime recorded in West Lindsey over the 12 months to August 2026; the most were recorded at “Parking Area” (573).

Of the 6,404 crimes in West Lindsey with a recorded outcome, 30% ended with the investigation complete and no suspect identified, against 35% across England and Wales; 4.1% were awaiting a court outcome (England and Wales: 5.2%). The 1,800 anti-social behaviour reports have no outcome and are left out.

West Lindsey has an estimated population of 99,208 (ONS, mid-2024). Compared with England and Wales it has fewer students (4.8%, against 7.9%), fewer households without a car (14%, against 23%) and more retired residents (30%, against 22%). On the England IoD 2025, the small areas (LSOAs) that make up West Lindsey average decile 5.4 (1 = most deprived), close to the middle.

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