Disorder on Tower Estate, Lincoln

Update: 16:40, 6 November

There will be a heightened policing presence in the Tower Estate area of Lincoln, for at least the next three days following disorder last night (5 November).

Police officers from Response and the local Neighbourhood Policing Team will be patrolling the area on foot and in vehicles, and we would encourage any residents with concerns about what happened to speak to officers.

These patrols are to ensure we do not see a repeat of unacceptable disorder which led to upwards of 14 incidents reported of deliberate fires and criminal damage, and both police and crews from Fire and Rescue being targeted.

We are working closely with the City of Lincoln Council to understand what might have led to this, and investigations are now underway to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

We would ask anyone with information to come forward – anything from CCTV, mobile phone, doorbell or dashcam footage will help our enquiries, along with general information about who might have been involved.  

Superintendent Philip Baker said: “We are acutely aware that people will have felt very frightened last night, and may have wondered why we were not immediately on scene. We want to help you understand our decision-making so you can feel assured that your safety is a priority for us. Our number one priority is to always protect people, and that includes our officers and other emergency services. There were no reports of people being injured or otherwise assaulted, and we were monitoring  incidents carefully while officers trained to deal with such disorder were assembled. While this would have been very concerning for people living in the area, we needed to make decisions based on the risk – at this point, risk to property, and not people. We moved in as soon as we were able and swiftly dealt with the threats. If there were reports of people being injured, our offices would have stepped in and put themselves at risk to protect our community as they do each day. We want to thank our local community for the resilience they have shown, and we join them in the absolute disgust at the actions of those committing offences last night.”

You may also have seen more fire crews on the scene today, accompanied by officers. This was in response to the bonfire set last night reigniting, and has now been put out. It was not a result of further disorder.

If you can help our investigations, please contact us on 101, quoting incident 324 of 05/11/2023, or email [email protected]. You can also make a report anonymously via Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or online at Independent UK charity taking crime information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org)

Original release

A number of officers have tonight been posted in and around Lincoln’s Tower Estate following an outbreak of disorder in the area.

We were first alerted to concerns around Tower Avenue at 5.40pm, when members of the public reported youths starting fires and causing criminal damage. Reports were also made to the Fire Service, who responded accordingly.

When police officers arrived at the scene, they had fireworks thrown at them and had to temporarily pull back to maintain officer safety. This short-term withdrawal allowed senior officers to reassess plans and resources so that the team could be modified and bolstered to be able to go back into the area safely. This team also accompanied colleagues from the Fire Service as they re-entered the area so that they too could safely enter and extinguish the fires that had been started. By approximately 10.15pm all fires had been put out.

In total, it is thought that a group of around 30 people were involved as the incident unfolded over the course of a couple of hours. A 24-hour dispersal order has been put in place for the area, which lasts until 6.30pm tomorrow (Monday November 6), and one person has been arrested in relation to public order offences.

Officers will remain in the area overnight to maintain the peace and to provide information and reassurance to local residents. If you live in the area, please do feel free to approach and talk to any officers who will offer you whatever information and advice they can.

The investigation into this incident is in its early stages and work is underway to establish the exact circumstances. If you have any information which you think might help the enquiry please contact us on 101, quoting incident 324 of 05/11/2023, or email [email protected].