Data shows scale of car theft in Lincolnshire as police issue warning

Closeup hand of thief try to break into car with screwdriver (theft concept)
-Credit:Getty Images/EyeEm


New data shows that almost seven in ten car thefts are not solved in Lincolnshire. Research shows that from April to June 2024 there were 179 investigations of car theft with a recorded outcome in the county.

Of these 68.2 per cent of cases were not solved. However, this is still better than the national average of 78.5 per cent of cases during the same timeframe.

The data shows that for all of England there were 31,654 recorded investigations of car thefts, but 24,837 of these were not solved, which works out as almost four in every five thefts.

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For the Lincolnshire incidents of car thefts, there was no suspect identified in 122 of these cases. However 10 investigations had resulted in someone being charged or summonsed.

Lincolnshire also had a lower percentage of car theft cases being left unsolved than the neighbouring counties of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire, which all surpassed 75 per cent of cases not being solved.

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police has stated: "The reports we receive relating to theft of vehicles range from personal cars to those used for business purposes and which also contain tools and equipment. It can be a really distressing time for people no matter what they use their vehicle for.

“We have lots of advice on our website to help prevent car and vehicle theft, including a reminder for people to make sure their vehicles are locked and properly secured, windows are closed and valuables are not on display. With keyless entry now a feature on many cars, we advise the use of faraday bags or similar to prevent keys being cloned."

They added: "Anyone who finds their vehicle has been stolen or broken into should contact us as soon as possible on 101 or online."