Decline in Registration Cases: The number of total crimes reported in India in 2023 was 445.9 per 100,000 people. The latest crime rate report of India in 2023 reveals a marginal decrease of 0.56% in the overall crime rate compared to the previous year. Cases of rape have risen by 1.1%, while instances of kidnapping and abduction have witnessed a 5.1% surge. Urban areas continue to have higher crime rates in comparison to rural regions.
In 2022, 58,24,946 cognizable crimes comprising 35,61,379 Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 22,63,567 under Special and Local Laws (SLL) were registered. It shows a decline of 2,71,364 (4.5%) in registration of cases over 2021 (60,96,310 cases). The State/UT reporting the highest Charge-sheeting Rate under IPC Crimes are Kerala (96.0%), Puducherry (91.3%) and West Bengal (90.6%).
Crime Rate: From 445.9 crimes reported per lakh people in 2021 to 422.2 crimes in 2022, the crime rate has decreased. The number of total crimes reported in India in 2023 was 445.9 per 100,000 people.
- The most common crime in India is theft, followed by robbery and assault.
- The states with the highest crime rates in India are Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Bihar.
- The crime rate in urban areas is higher than the crime rate in rural areas.
- The report attributes the decrease in the overall crime rate to several factors, including increased police presence, improved law enforcement, and greater public awareness of crime.
Crime Against Women:
NCRB report detailed a substantial escalation in reported crimes against women, soaring from 3,71,503 cases in 2020 to 4,45,256 cases in 2022. Compared to 2021’s 4,28,278 cases, the 2022 statistics marked a troubling increase.
The NCRB 2022 report highlighted that a significant proportion of crimes against women under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) involved ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ (31.4%), ‘Kidnapping and Abduction of Women’ (19.2%), ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (18.7%), and ‘Rape’ (7.1%).
13,479 cases registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act, with over 1,40,000 cases categorized under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ (Sec. 498A IPC).
Delhi recorded 14,158 cases of crimes against women, Mumbai saw 6,176 cases with a high 80.6% chargesheet rate, while Bengaluru reported 3,924 cases with a 74.2% chargesheet rate.
Uttar Pradesh registered the highest number of 65,743 cases of crimes against women under IPC and Special and Local Laws (SLL), Maharashtra recorded 45,331 cases, and Rajasthan reported 45,058 cases, each with varying chargesheet rates.
Suicide: 2022 increased by 4.2% over 2021
54.9% of all suicides in the nation in 2022 were caused by “Family Problems (other than marriage-related problems)” (31.7%), “Marriage Related Problems” (4.8%), and “Illness” (18.4%). The suicide victims’ overall male to female ratio was 71.8:28.2.
Maximum suicides were reported from Maharashtra (22,746), Tamil Nadu (19,834), Madhya Pradesh (15,386), Karnataka (13,606), Kerala (10,162), and Telangana (9,980).
9.6% of the suicides were by self-employed or salaried professionals followed by unemployed persons comprising 9.2% of all suicides reported in India in 2022.
Among all suicides reported in the year, over 12,000 were of students.
Cases of Murder: A total of 28,522 cases of murder were registered during 2022, showing a marginal decline of 2.6% over 2021(29,272 cases).
Cybercrimes: Under it, 65,893 cases were registered showing an increase of 24.4% in registration over 2021 (52,974 cases). It increased by 24.4 % compared to 2021 to 65,893 cases. Around 64.8% of registered cases were of fraud, followed by extortion (5.5%), and sexual exploitation (5.2%).
Kidnapping & Abduction: In 2022, 1,07,588 cases of kidnapping and abduction were reported, which represents a 5.8% increase from 1,01,707 occurrences in 2021.
Crime against Children: In 2022, 1,07,588 cases of kidnapping and abduction were reported, which represents a 5.8% increase from 1,01,707 occurrences in 2021.
Crime against Senior Citizens: 28,545 cases were registered for committing crimes against Senior Citizens (aged above 60 years), showing an increase of 9.3% from 2021.
Crime/Atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs): There is a 13.1% rise in cases against SCs in 2021. Crime rate: Between 2021 and 2022, the recorded crime rate increased from 25.3 to 28.6.
Crime/Atrocities against Scheduled Tribes (STs): Cases registered for committing crimes against Scheduled Tribes (STs) show an increase of 14.3% over 2021. Crime Rate: It registered an increase from 8.4 in 2021 to 9.6 in 2022.
Economic Offences: These witness an increase of 11.1% in registration over 2021.
Counterfeiting accounted for the greatest number of cases in 2022(1,70,901) followed by criminal breach of trust (21,814 instances) and counterfeiting (670 cases).
Prevention of Corruption Act: State Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACBs) recorded 4,139 cases in 2022 compared to 3,745 cases in 2021, indicating a 10.5% rise.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau is the main investigative unit of the Vigilance Department.
Environment-Related Offences: 52,920 cases were registered under Environment-Related Offences as compared to 64,471 cases in 2021, showing a decrease of 17.9%.
Crime Against Foreigners: 192 offenses were reported against foreigners (tourists and residents) in 2022 in contrast to 150 cases in 2021 indicating a 28.0% increase.
Human Trafficking: 2,250 instances of human trafficking were reported in 2022 compared to 2,189 cases in 2021, indicating a 2.8% rise.
