If your home or business were burgled tomorrow, what would happen?
Based on the last 12 months of official Lincolnshire Police data (April 2025 to March 2026), the most likely answer is: no one will ever be held accountable. In 86.3% of recorded burglaries last year, the case was closed with either:
- No suspect identified, or
- No prosecution possible.
Last year, 2,337 burglaries were recorded across Lincolnshire.
This report looks at where those burglaries occurred, when they occurred, and what the outcomes were, town by town, month by month. We have also compared 2025/26 to the previous two years.
This report isn’t designed to alarm you. In fact, there is some good news in the data. Burglaries have fallen by 15% over the last three years. But understanding the picture is the first step to protecting yourself, your business, and those you love.
Quick Stats
2025/26: The Most Recent Year
- 2,337 burglaries were recorded across 114 towns and villages in Lincolnshire.
- In 86.3% of those cases, or 2,017 burglaries, no one was held accountable. 73.2% were closed with no suspect ever identified. A further 13.1% resulted in a suspect being found but not prosecuted.
- Lincoln is the most burgled part of the county with 317 recorded incidents.
- Boston recorded 275 burglaries, the second-highest total in the county.
- In West Lindsey’s rural areas, 94.9% of burglaries resulted in no one being held accountable.
- In rural areas across Lincolnshire, 91.8% of burglaries resulted in no accountability, compared to 84.9% in urban areas.
- Autumn was the worst season. 92.1% of burglaries between September and November resulted in no one being held accountable.
- January 2026 was the busiest single month, with 246 recorded burglaries across the county.
- Boston recorded 60 burglaries in January 2026 alone, the highest monthly total for any single town in the dataset.
What Three Years of Data Shows
- Burglaries across Lincolnshire are falling from 2,748 in 2023/24 to 2,337 in 2025/26. This is a 15% reduction.
- Despite falling numbers, the no-accountability rate has remained consistently high. 88.3% in 2023/24, 92.2% in 2024/25, 86.3% in 2025/26.
- Across all three years, 89% of burglaries (6,734 out of 7,570) resulted in no one being held accountable.
- Lincoln has seen the biggest improvement. Burglaries are down 35% over three years, from 489 to 317.
- Gainsborough roughly halved its total over the same period, from 256 to 128.
- Skegness recorded the greatest all-round improvement. Burglaries are down 44%, and the accountability rate fell from 86.1% to 70.5%.
- Boston bucked the trend entirely. Up 67% over three years, from 165 burglaries to 275
- South Holland’s rural areas recorded a 152% increase, from 42 burglaries in 2023/24 to 106 in 2025/26
How We Gathered Data
We downloaded all our data from police.uk, the official open data platform for crime statistics in England and Wales. We downloaded monthly crime files for the Lincolnshire Police force area covering three full years, April 2023 to March 2026. This gave us 36 months of data and 7,570 recorded burglaries to analyse.
We filtered the data to the burglary crime type only, removing all other recorded offences.
To map individual incidents to towns and villages, we cross-referenced the LSOA (Lower Layer Super Output Area) codes in the crime data against the ONS LSOA to Built-up Area lookup (December 2022), published by the Office for National Statistics. Where an incident fell outside a named built-up area, we recorded it as rural within its local authority district. For example, “East Lindsey (rural)” or “West Lindsey (rural).”
We used AI-assisted analysis using two separate models to process and cross-reference the data. This meant we could match thousands of individual records accurately and consistently across all 36 months.
All figures reflect crime as recorded by Lincolnshire Police and published on police.uk. We haven’t adjusted or altered any data. Settlements with fewer than 15 recorded incidents in any given year are included in the full data table for completeness, but you should treat the percentage figures for these smaller settlements with caution due to the small sample size.
Burglaries Across Lincolnshire in 2025/26: The Full Picture
In the 12 months from April 2025 to March 2026, 2,337 burglaries were recorded across Lincolnshire. In 86.3% of those cases, 2,017 incidents, no one was held accountable. Either no suspect was ever identified, or a suspect was found but couldn’t be prosecuted.
The table below shows the full breakdown by town and month.
(Scroll right and left to view the full table.)
| Town | Apr 25 | May 25 | Jun 25 | Jul 25 | Aug 25 | Sep 25 | Oct 25 | Nov 25 | Dec 25 | Jan 26 | Feb 26 | Mar 26 | Total | % No Accountability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | 18 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 27 | 33 | 27 | 29 | 26 | 26 | 19 | 33 | 317 | 82.0% | |
| Boston | 5 | 22 | 16 | 30 | 23 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 16 | 60 | 44 | 17 | 275 | 76.4% | |
| East Lindsey (rural) | 13 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 12 | 135 | 93.3% | |
| Gainsborough | 9 | 14 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 128 | 86.7% | |
| South Holland (rural) | 2 | 12 | 13 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 106 | 96.2% | |
| Skegness | 5 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 105 | 70.5% | |
| Grantham | 10 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 89 | 92.1% | |
| Spalding | 6 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 80 | 90.0% | |
| West Lindsey (rural) | 4 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 78 | 94.9% | |
| Boston (rural) | 4 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 61 | 75.4% | |
| North Kesteven (rural) | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 53 | 92.5% | |
| Louth | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 42 | 81.0% | |
| South Kesteven (rural) | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 40 | 92.5% | |
| Stamford | 1 | – | 1 | – | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 38 | 78.9% | |
| Ingoldmells | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 94.6% | |
| Sleaford | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | – | – | 2 | 6 | 33 | 87.9% | |
| Bourne | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 30 | 86.7% | |
| Chapel St Leonards | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 26 | 88.5% | |
| North Kelsey | 1 | 3 | 7 | – | 3 | 2 | 4 | – | – | 3 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 96.2% | |
| Long Sutton (South Holland) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | 5 | 1 | 23 | 95.7% | |
| North Hykeham | – | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | – | 22 | 100.0% | |
| Whaplode Drove | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 95.2% | |
| Caistor | – | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 95.0% | |
| Mablethorpe | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | 2 | 1 | 19 | 94.7% | |
| Horncastle | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | 16 | 81.2% | |
| Corby Glen | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | 6 | – | 1 | 3 | 16 | 75.0% | |
| Coningsby and Tattershall | – | – | – | 4 | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | 100.0% | |
| Pinchbeck | 1 | 2 | – | – | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 14 | 92.9% | |
| Sutton Bridge | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 50.0% | |
| Cowbit | 1 | 1 | – | 6 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | 1 | 13 | 92.3% | |
| Harlaxton | – | 1 | 1 | – | 2 | – | 5 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 | 13 | 92.3% | |
| Woodhall Spa | 4 | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 84.6% | |
| Kirton (Boston) | – | – | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 12 | 75.0% | |
| Barrowby | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | 2 | 5 | – | 1 | 12 | 100.0% | |
| Crowland | 2 | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 83.3% | |
| Dunston | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 91.7% | |
| Saxilby | – | 2 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 81.8% | |
| Manby | 3 | 1 | – | – | 3 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | 1 | 11 | 90.9% | |
| Colsterworth | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 3 | – | 2 | – | – | 1 | 2 | 11 | 100.0% | |
| Market Deeping | – | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | 10 | 100.0% | |
| Scotter | 1 | 1 | – | 3 | – | – | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 10 | 80.0% | |
| Ruskington | – | 2 | 1 | 3 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 10 | 90.0% | |
| Keelby | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | 100.0% | |
| Bracebridge Heath | 2 | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | 10 | 100.0% | |
| Donington | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 9 | 88.9% | |
| Rippingale | 1 | 4 | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 9 | 100.0% | |
| Market Rasen | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 | 9 | 100.0% | |
| Washingborough/Heighington | 1 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | 9 | 100.0% | |
| Holbeach | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 75.0% | |
| Billinghay | 1 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | – | 1 | 8 | 75.0% | |
| Old Leake | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 8 | 75.0% | |
| Mareham le Fen | 1 | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 3 | 8 | 62.5% | |
| Welbourn | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 4 | – | – | 8 | 100.0% | |
| Leasingham | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | 7 | 100.0% | |
| Hogsthorpe | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | 2 | 7 | 85.7% | |
| Heckington | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 7 | 85.7% | |
| Welton (West Lindsey) | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 1 | 6 | 83.3% | |
| Spilsby | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | 6 | 83.3% | |
| Deeping St James | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 6 | 83.3% | |
| Bardney | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | 83.3% | |
| Ropsley | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 6 | 100.0% | |
| Metheringham | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 5 | 100.0% | |
| Witham St Hughs | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 5 | 80.0% | |
| Wragby | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 5 | 60.0% | |
| North Somercotes | – | 1 | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 100.0% | |
| Nettleham | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 5 | 100.0% | |
| Dunholme | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | 2 | 5 | 80.0% | |
| Laughterton | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 5 | 100.0% | |
| Waddington (North Kesteven) | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 3 | 5 | 60.0% | |
| Deeping St Nicholas | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 5 | 100.0% | |
| Gosberton | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | – | 5 | 80.0% | |
| Barkston | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 100.0% | |
| Brant Broughton | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 5 | 100.0% | |
| Branston | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 100.0% | |
| Brookenby | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 4 | 100.0% | |
| Billingborough | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 4 | 100.0% | |
| Cranwell | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | 4 | 100.0% | |
| Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 4 | 100.0% | |
| North Thoresby | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 4 | 100.0% | |
| Quadring | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | 4 | 100.0% | |
| Hemswell Cliff | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 100.0% | |
| Holton le Clay | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 | 100.0% | |
| Wrangle | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 3 | 66.7% | |
| Thurlby | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 3 | 100.0% | |
| Skellingthorpe | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 100.0% | |
| Alford (East Lindsey) | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 3 | 100.0% | |
| Blyton | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 3 | 66.7% | |
| Eagle | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 3 | 100.0% | |
| Morton (South Kesteven) | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 3 | 66.7% | |
| Whaplode | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 100.0% | |
| Bassingham | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | 3 | 66.7% | |
| Coleby | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 3 | 33.3% | |
| Baston | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Great Gonerby | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Caythorpe | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Burgh le Marsh | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Ashby de la Launde | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Claypole | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Wainfleet All Saints | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Sturton by Stow | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Digby | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Scampton | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 100.0% | |
| South Witham | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 50.0% | |
| Tetney | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Navenby | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 50.0% | |
| Sibsey | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 100.0% | |
| Butterwick | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 100.0% | |
| Ancaster | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 100.0% | |
| Reepham (West Lindsey) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 100.0% | |
| Ingham (West Lindsey) | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 100.0% | |
| Sudbrooke | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 100.0% | |
| South Hykeham | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 100.0% | |
| Scothern | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 100.0% | |
| Swineshead | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 100.0% | |
| No accountability = investigation closed with no suspect identified, or suspect found but unable to prosecute. Settlements with fewer than 15 recorded burglaries: treat % with caution due to small sample size. | |||||||||||||||
Key Findings
The findings cover 114 towns and villages, 2,337 recorded burglaries, and 12 months of outcomes. Here’s what stands out.
1: 86.3% of Burglaries Resulted in No One Being Held Accountable
Of the 2,337 burglaries recorded across Lincolnshire between April 2025 and March 2026, 2,017 resulted in no one being held accountable.
In 1,711 cases, 73.2%, the investigation was closed with no suspect ever identified. In a further 306 cases, 13.1%, a suspect was identified but couldn’t be prosecuted. Combined, that’s 86.3% of all recorded burglaries with no outcome for the victim.
That figure isn’t an outlier. It’s consistent across town after town, month after month. And as the sections below show, in some parts of Lincolnshire the picture is considerably worse.
2: Lincoln Records Almost One Burglary Every Single Day
With 317 incidents over 12 months, Lincoln is the most burgled location in the county by some distance.
Despite its volume, Lincoln’s no-accountability rate of 82.0% sits below the county average, likely reflecting the greater concentration of police resources in the city. That rate has also improved over three years, from 85.9% in 2023/24. Even so, more than eight in ten burglaries in Lincoln still result in no one being held responsible.
3: Rural Lincolnshire is Where Burglaries Are Least Likely to Result in Any Outcome
The data draws a clear line between urban and rural outcomes.
In urban areas of Lincolnshire, 84.9% of burglaries resulted in no accountability in 2025/26. In rural areas, that figure was 91.8%. That gap’s been consistent across all three years in our dataset.
At the extreme end, West Lindsey’s rural areas recorded a 94.9% no accountability rate. South Holland’s rural areas recorded 96.2%. North Kelsey recorded 96.2%.
Rural properties are harder to monitor, response times are longer, and there are often fewer witnesses. When a burglary happens in an isolated area, the practical obstacles to identifying and prosecuting a suspect are significant, and the data reflects that.
4: Coastal Towns Show a Clear Seasonal Pattern, and Autumn Produces the Worst Outcomes
Skegness, Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards all show higher activity during the summer months, with incidents dropping in late autumn and winter. This likely reflects the rhythm of coastal tourism.
But while summer produces the highest number of incidents, autumn produces the worst outcomes. Between September and November 2025, the no-accountability rate across Lincolnshire reached 92.1%, the highest of any season. East Lindsey’s rural areas recorded their worst month in November 2025, with 24 incidents, possibly linked to the end of the tourist season and properties being left unoccupied.
5: Gainsborough Appears in the Data Month After Month
Gainsborough recorded 128 burglaries in 2025/26, placing it third overall behind Lincoln and Boston. What makes Gainsborough stand out isn’t the total but the consistency. Double figures in the majority of months, without the spikes or seasonal patterns visible elsewhere.
Its no accountability rate improved modestly over three years, from 93.8% in 2023/24 to 86.7% in 2025/26.
6: Boston’s Extraordinary January Spike
Boston’s January 2026 figure of 60 incidents is the highest monthly total for any town in the dataset, more than double its previous highest month. We’ve presented this figure exactly as recorded in the source data published by Lincolnshire Police on police.uk.
Whether it reflects a genuine surge in incidents, a change in recording practice or a delayed batch of reports, we can’t say. But it’s worth noting as an outlier when interpreting Boston’s overall total.
7: Autumn is the Worst Season. Spring Offers the Best Odds.
April was the quietest single month in 2025/26, with 147 recorded burglaries across Lincolnshire. Taken as a whole, spring (April and May), produced the lowest no accountability rate of any season at 77.4%.
That’s still a high figure. But it sits well below autumn’s 92.1% and winter’s 85.3%. The pattern likely reflects lighter evenings, more people at home, and greater activity outdoors, all of which make properties harder to approach unnoticed.
8: Where You Live in Lincolnshire Makes a Difference
Not all parts of Lincolnshire are equal when it comes to the likelihood of a burglary resulting in any outcome. The gap between the best and worst performing towns in our 2025/26 data is nearly 30 percentage points.
Skegness recorded the lowest no-accountability rate of any major town at 70.5%. Boston was next at 76.4%, followed by Stamford at 78.9% and Louth at 81.0%. At the other end, South Holland’s rural areas recorded 96.2%, North Kelsey 96.2% and Whaplode Drove 95.2%.
How Does 2025/26 Compare to Previous Years?
Source: police.uk crime data, Lincolnshire Police force area. Analysis by Lincolnshire Security Systems.
No accountability = investigation closed with no suspect identified, or suspect found but unable to prosecute.
The headline finding from three years of data is an encouraging one. Burglaries across Lincolnshire have fallen consistently:
- 2,748 in 2023/24
- 2,485 in 2024/25
- 2,337 in 2025/26
That’s a 15% fall over three years.
But one number has barely moved.
Despite fewer burglaries being recorded year on year, the proportion resulting in no one being held accountable has remained consistently high:
- 88.3% in 2023/24
- 92.2% in 2024/25
- 86.3% in 2025/26
Across all three years, 89% of burglaries, 6,734 out of 7,570 incidents, resulted in no one being held accountable. Although fewer crimes are being committed, the chances of any outcome if you’re burgled haven’t changed meaningfully.
The Towns That Have Improved
Several of Lincolnshire’s larger towns have seen significant reductions over the three-year period.
Lincoln recorded 489 burglaries in 2023/24. By 2025/26 that figure had fallen to 317, a reduction of 35% and the largest absolute improvement of any town in the dataset. Its no accountability rate also improved, from 85.9% to 82.0%.
Gainsborough roughly halved its total over the same period, falling from 256 burglaries to 128. That reduction was sustained across all three years rather than driven by a single exceptional month. Its no accountability rate improved from 93.8% to 86.7%.
Skegness showed the greatest all-round improvement. Burglaries fell from 187 to 105, and the no-accountability rate dropped sharply from 86.1% to 70.5%. That’s the sharpest improvement in outcomes of any major town in the dataset.
The Towns Moving in the Wrong Direction
Not every part of Lincolnshire has followed the downward trend.
Boston is the most significant exception. While most other major towns in the county recorded fewer burglaries over the three-year period, Boston went the other way, from 165 incidents in 2023/24 to 275 in 2025/26, an increase of 67%. The January 2026 spike of 60 incidents in a single month is part of that picture, but even without it, the upward trend is clear. Boston’s trajectory over the past three years stands apart from the rest of Lincolnshire.
South Holland’s rural areas tell a similar story. From 42 recorded burglaries in 2023/24, the figure rose to 76 in 2024/25 and 106 in 2025/26. That’s a 152% increase over three years. Its no accountability rate worsened over the same period, from 85.7% to 96.2%. Of all the areas in this dataset, South Holland’s rural areas have seen the most significant deterioration across both measures.
The Rural Picture
West Lindsey’s rural areas recorded fewer burglaries in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, 78 compared to 99. On the surface, that looks like an improvement. But the no-accountability rate rose from 87.9% to 94.9% over the same period. Fewer incidents, but almost none of them resulted in any formal outcome.
East Lindsey’s rural areas show a similar pattern. The total fell from 186 to 135, but the no-accountability rate remained consistently above 93% across all three years.
The picture for rural Lincolnshire is consistent regardless of which year you look at. If your property’s burgled in a rural area, the data suggests there’s very little chance of anyone being held responsible, and that hasn’t changed meaningfully over three years.
The Context: Lincolnshire Police and the Funding Picture
It’s important to be clear about something: we’re not blaming the police. Lincolnshire Police is operating under difficult financial circumstances.
The force is facing a budget shortfall of £14 million for 2025/26, rising to an estimated £20 million in the coming years. The Police and Crime Commissioner has described the situation as “unprecedented”, stating that the force has been structurally underfunded for years and that reserves can no longer bridge the gap. Plans to reduce officer numbers by around 200 to approximately 1,000 officers across the entire county have been under active discussion, with the upcoming officer intake already cancelled.
Lincolnshire is a large, mostly rural county. Policing it properly takes significant resources. When that resource is constantly cut, it’s rural areas and lower-priority investigations, including many burglaries, that feel the impact first.
Again, we’re not criticising the officers and staff doing their jobs under real pressure. The data reflects the reality of what outcomes look like when a large rural county is, in the words of its own former chief constable, “the lowest funded force in the country”.
What the Data Really Means
According to a 2022 report by ADT, the average burglary costs a homeowner £2,856. The cost to businesses is higher still. When 86.3% of burglaries result in no one being held responsible, the realistic expectation for most victims is that they will bear that cost without any outcome.
A well-designed security system changes the calculation for anyone looking to target a property.
- CCTV that covers your entry points,
- A properly installed intruder alarm
- Access control that manages who can get in and out
None of these are guarantees, but they all make your property a harder and less attractive option than one without them. The research on deterrence is consistent: visible security reduces the likelihood of being targeted in the first place.
The data also points to something worth keeping in mind about timing. Autumn is consistently the worst season for burglary outcomes in Lincolnshire. Rural properties are consistently the hardest to investigate. Empty properties like holiday lets, second homes, and farms without regular activity feature repeatedly in the data. If your property fits any of those descriptions, the case for good security is particularly strong.
What Can You Do to Protect Your Property?
The data makes one thing clear: if your home or business is burgled in Lincolnshire, the most likely outcome is that no one will ever be held responsible. That is not a criticism of anyone; it’s just what three years of numbers show.
Which means the most practical thing you can do is make sure it doesn’t happen in the first place.
At Lincolnshire Security Systems, we design and install bespoke CCTV, intruder alarms and access control systems for homes and businesses across Lincolnshire. We design every installation around your property, your routine and your budget.
If you’d like to understand what good security looks like for your property, we offer a free site visit with no obligation.
- Data source: police.uk open data for the Lincolnshire Police force area, crime data downloads.
- Period covered: April 2023 to March 2026 (36 months, three full 12-month periods).
- Crime type: Burglary only. All other crime types were excluded from the analysis.
- Geographic mapping: LSOA codes from the crime data were cross-referenced with the ONS LSOA (2021) to Built-up Area to Local Authority District to Region (December 2022) Best Fit Lookup in England and Wales (V2), published by the Office for National Statistics. Where incidents fell outside a named built-up area, they were recorded as rural within their respective local authority district.
- Data processing: All data was processed and cross-referenced using AI-assisted analysis using two separate models to ensure accurate and consistent matching across 36 months of records.
- Annual periods: Data is grouped into three 12-month periods running April to March 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 to allow consistent year-on-year comparison.
- Outcome categories: Outcomes as recorded by police.uk were grouped into three categories: No suspect identified (investigation complete, no suspect identified); Suspect identified, no prosecution (unable to prosecute, not in public interest, or referred elsewhere); and Ongoing / court (awaiting court outcome, court result unavailable, or status update unavailable).
- Boston January 2026: The figure of 60 incidents in January 2026 is recorded as published in the source data on police.uk. It is presented without adjustment.
- Small sample sizes: Settlements with fewer than 15 recorded incidents in any given year are included in the full data table for completeness. Percentage figures for these smaller settlements should be treated with caution. A high unsolved rate based on a small number of incidents carries less statistical weight than the same figure for a town with 50 or more incidents.
- Limitations: This data reflects burglaries as recorded by Lincolnshire Police. Not all burglaries are reported, and not all reported burglaries are recorded. Figures should be understood as recorded incidents rather than a complete picture of all burglary activity.