The National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) has released its annual report titled “Crime in India – 2022”. The report shows that a total of 58,24,946 cognisable crimes which includes 35,61,379 Indian Penal Code(IPC) crimes and 22,63,567 Special & Local laws(SLL) crimes were registered in 2022.
- It shows a decline of 4.5% in registration of cases compared to 2021.
- The crime rate registered per lakh population has declined from 445.9 in 2021 to 422.2 in 2022.
- This (2022) is the 70th edition of Crime in India, the annual report published by NCRB.
About Crime in India:
i.Crime in India is the oldest and the most prestigious publication brought out by NCRB. the first edition of the report pertains to 1953.
ii.The report provides comprehensive data on reported crimes from across the country.
iii.The NCRB report is based on data collected from 36 States and Union Territories (UTs) and central agencies.
Note: Other noted reports published by NCRB include Accidental Deaths and Suicides, Prison Statistics and Report on Missing Women and Children in India.
Key Highlights:
i.Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal have witnessed the highest charge sheeting rates under IPC crimes.
ii.In 2022, registration of cases under IPC and SLL crimes have declined by 28% and 7% respectively over 2021.
- The majority of the cases registered under IPC were of theft which accounted for about 44.6% of total cases followed by Rash Driving on public ways (10.5%) and Disobedience to orders duly promulgated by public servants (7%).
iv.NCRB Report stated that cases registered under IPC and SLL in 19 metropolitan cities saw a decrease of 10.4% over 2021.
Note:
- Crime Rate indicates the number of cases registered per lakh population.
- Cognizable crimes refer to cases which are registered under a section of the IPC and SLL. Crimes like Rape, Murder and Theft are considered cognizable in India.
Kolkata Declared the Safest City in India for 3rd Consecutive Year:
According to the NCRB report, Kolkata (West Bengal) emerged as the safest city in India for the 3rd consecutive year among major metropolis. Kolkata has witnessed a drop in the number of cases of cognizable offences per lakh people from 103.4(2021) to 86.5(2022).
- Kolkata is followed by Pune (Maharashtra) (280.7 cases) and Hyderabad (Telangana) (299.2 cases) as the 2nd and 3rd safest cities in India.
- The rankings were based on a comparison among 19 cities with over 20 lakh population.
Key Points:
i.Kolkata witnessed a rise in crimes against women as the number of cases rose from 1783 cases (2021) to 1890 cases (2022).
- The crime against women in Kolkata was at 27.1 which is greater than other eastern metropolis of Coimbatore (12.9) and Chennai (17.1).
ii.There is a decrease in the number of cases reported in violent crimes in Kolkata. Only 34 murder cases were reported in 2022 whereas 45 cases were reported in 2021.
Crime against Women:
i.A total of 4,45,256 cases of crime against women were registered in 2022. It shows an increase of 4% compared to 2021.
ii.3 main causes for crimes against women:
- Cruelty by the Husband or His relatives contributed 31.4% of crimes against women.
- Kidnapping and Abduction of women (19.2%)
- Assault on women with intent to Outrage her Modesty (18.7%)
iii.As per NCRB Report 2022, Delhi and Haryana are the most unsafe states for women in India. The states recorded 144.4 and 118.7 incidents of crime per lakh women, respectively.
Increase in Suicide cases:
i.Overall, 1.70 lakh suicides were reported in 2022, which was 4.2% higher than (1.64 lakh cases) in 2021.
ii.Family problems (31.7%), Marriage related problems (4.8%) and Illness (18.4%) were attributed as the primary causes of total suicides in India in 2022.
iii.The maximum number of suicides was registered in Maharashtra followed by Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
iv.Daily wagers, farmers and agricultural workers together contributed to 33% of total suicides by men in the unorganized sector.
v.NCRB report highlighted the distressing fact that over 12000 students committed suicides in the year 2022.
Increase in Economic offences:
- The report highlighted an increase of 11.1% in the registration of cases related to economic offences compared to 2021.
- Fraud and Counterfeiting (FCF) with 1, 70,901 cases accounted for the maximum number of cases, followed by criminal breach of trust (21,814 cases) and counterfeiting (670 cases).
Cybercrimes:
i.A total of 65,893 cases were registered under cyber crimes in 2022. This shows an increase of 24.4% in registration over 2021 (52,974 cases).
ii.Crime rate under cybercrime has increased from 3.9 (2021) to 4.8(2022).
iii.As per the report, the Maximum number of cybercrimes were registered in 3 broad categories: Cyber fraud cases contributed 64.8% of registered cases followed by extortion (5.5%) and sexual exploitation (5.2%).
Cybercrime in Metros:
i.19 metro cities witnessed an increase in registered cases related to Cyber Crimes with a 42.7% increase.
ii.Cyber crime rate has increased from 15.0 in 2021 to 21.4 in 2022.
iii.Bengaluru (Karnataka) recorded the highest number of cybercrimes in Metropolitan cities (2020-2022) with 9940 cases registered in 2022. this is followed by Mumbai (Maharashtra) with 4724 cases; Hyderabad (Telangana) with 4436 cases and New Delhi (Delhi) with 685 cases.
Crime Against States:
In 2022, Crimes involving offences against the State have witnessed an increase of 8.6% compared to 2021. A total of 5610 cases were registered in 2022.
- 78.5% of these cases were registered under The Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act(4403 cases) followed by cases registered under UAPA(Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) with 1005 cases which showed an increase of 17.9%.
Animal attacks:
i.The number of people dying or getting injured due to animal attacks increased by 19% in 2022 compared to 2021.
ii.It revealed that a total of 1510 deaths and injuries were recorded due to animal attacks in 2022 compared to 2021(with 1264 cases).
iii.Maharashtra followed by Uttar Pradesh and Odisha were the top 3 states that reported the maximum number of cases.
iv.The number of animal or reptile and insect bites increased by 16.7% in 2022. The highest numbers of bite cases were reported from Rajasthan followed by Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Key Points:
i.The report showed an increase of 8.7% in cases of crimes against children compared to 2021.
- Main factors contributed to these cases: Kidnapping and Abduction, Cases filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
ii.Crimes against senior citizens have witnessed an increase of 9.3% over 2021. A total of 28,545 cases of crimes against senior citizens were registered compared to 26,110 cases in 2021.
iii.Compared to 2021, the crimes against SC (Scheduled Caste) and ST (Scheduled Tribe) have increased by 13.1% and 14.3% respectively in 2022.
iv.Crimes against foreigners have increased by 28% compared to 2021. A total of 192 cases number of cases were registered in 2022.
About NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau):
NCRB under the Ministry of Home Affairs(MoHA) is a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators.
Director– Vivek Gogia
Headquarter– New Delhi, Delhi
Established in 1986
