Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Damini Mehta
. Crime rate registered per lakh population has also declined from 445.9 to 422.2 between 2021 and 2022. Image Source: IANS
The year 2022 recorded a 4.5% decline in registered crimes in India compared to 2021. A total of 35.61 lakh cognizable crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were registered in India in 2022 compared to 36.63 lakh crimes registered in the pandemic year of 2021.
As a country moves ahead on the path of economic development, there is a commensurate expectation that the societal conditions also become favorable for citizens to enjoy the benefits of economic growth and progress. One of the ways to ensure this is a safer and secure environment reflective of the decrease in crime rates across the country. A recent report on crime data on India released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicates otherwise. Year after year, the NCRB data on registered crimes in India points towards the precarious condition of women, children and marginalized sections in India.
The year 2022 recorded a 4.5% decline in registered crimes in India compared to 2021. A total of 35.61 lakh cognizable crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were registered in India in 2022 compared to 36.63 lakh crimes registered in the pandemic year of 2021. Crime rate registered per lakh population has also declined from 445.9 to 422.2 between 2021 and 2022. Talking about murder which is one of the most grievous offenses, the year 2022 recorded a marginal decline of 2.6% in total murder cases registered. Crimes against women also declined by 4% in 2022 from 4.45 lakh crimes registered in 2021 to 4.28 lakh this time. In what makes fighting crime against women even more difficult, a majority of the crimes against women were done by either the husband or his relatives at 31.4% of the total followed by kidnapping and abduction at 19.2%. Interestingly, a decline in total crime against women is not reflected in the crime registered per lakh women population, which increased from 64.5 in 2021 to 66.4 in 2022.
Children continue to be at the receiving end of violence and atrocities. Crimes registered against children recorded a jump of 8.7% between 2022 and 2021. From 1.49 lakh cases in 2021, 1.62 lakh cases of criminal activities were registered against children in 2022. Nearly 40% of the crimes against children were sexual offenses second only to kidnapping and abduction at 45.7%.
In Spite of a law to check violence and discrimination against scheduled caste (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs), one of the most marginalized sections of the Indian society, SCs and STs continue to face discrimination and violence. Crimes against SCs jumped by more than 13% in just one year between 2021 and 2022 whereas crimes registered against STs show a 14.3% hike in the same period.
In January 2022, in a report released by Transparency International on corruption perception of countries, India ranked 85 out of 180 countries. According to the NCRB data, there was a jump of 10.5% in the corruption cases registered in India from 3,745 cases in 2021 to 4,139 cases in 2022 registered with State Anti-Corruption Bureaus.
As the country moves towards a digital revolution and online tools penetrate every aspect of citizen life right from government interaction to personal life, a jump in incidence in cyber crimes or crimes committed through digital platforms has also seen a spike in the last few years. In 2022, a total of 5,610 cyber crime cases were registered compared to 5,164 cases in the previous year showing an increase of 8.6%.
The report covers several other aspects of crime incidence in India and assesses the crime rate and occurrence in top cities in tiers as well. Interestingly, while Delhi continues to rank as one of the most unsafe metropolitan cities for women in India with an average of three rapes reported per day, contrary to general perception, Jaipur is the most unsafe city for women in India with a rate of 239.3 crimes against women. On the other hand, Kolkata followed by Pune ranked as the safest cities in India. Kolkata has the least number of cognisable offenses per lakh population and reported 86.5 cases of cognisable offenses per lakh people, followed by Pune at 280.7 and Hyderabad at 299.2.
The NCRB lays caution that the report is based on the registered crimes and may not be indicative of the actual incidence of crime in India. It is also important to note that in case of some tier one cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai etc, increased crime numbers might also be a result of greater citizen awareness and improved law enforcement. Therefore, reading the data in silos, without taking other factors into consideration might lead one to a poor understanding of crime in India. Lastly, the report also highlights the need for all stakeholders to fight the menace of crime through new age digital tools which will not only improve surveillance and reduce incidence of crime but also assist in keeping a better record of crimes.
