CHAPTER 37

CRIME STATISTICS
37.1 Crime Statistics is an important and essential input for assessing quality of life
and the human rights situation in the society. Crime Statistics broadly reflects the
status of operations of Criminal Justice System in a Country. Crime Statistics
includes data on Offences - Breaches of the law Offenders - Those who commit
offences Victims - Those who are offended against In India Crime statistics are
generated on the basis of crime records maintained by different law enforcing
agencies like the Police, the Judiciary at different level of administrative/legal
jurisdiction under the federal system of India. These statistics are normally readily
available and are generally used for assessing how crime is being dealt with by law
enforcement agencies, However, these statistics being based on those cases which
are generally reported to the law enforcement agencies and recorded through all
stages of actions on the cases reported. As such 'Crime Statistics' in India gives an
incomplete picture of crime situations in the country. However, the deficiency is not
particular to India, as some studies have shown that even data collected by British
Crime Statistics provides a picture of 30% of the actual crime in that country.

37.2 Source of Crime Statistics: 37.2.1 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
is the nodal agency at the centre to collect, compile and disseminate the information
related with crime. “Crime in India”, an annual compilation of NCRB, is being
published since 1953. For this publication, the information in 22 standardized formats
is being collected from all the 36 States/UTs as well as from 35 mega cities.

37.3 Internationally, data on crime & drugs are maintained by United Nations Office
of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) . UNODC collects data on crime and the operation of
criminal justice systems in order to make policy-relevant information and analysis
available in a timely manner to the international community. UNODC works on the
development of methodology and standards for crime and criminal justice information
systems and for the conduct of victimization surveys. The office also aims to
enhance the cross-national comparability of data through the development of key
indicators and data reporting tools. Periodic reports of UNODC on selected crime
issues provide in-depth analysis on key topics of concern at the global and regional
level.

37.4 Recognizing the importance of Crime Statistics , UNODC in cooperation with

United Nations Statistical Division conducted the Eleventh United Nations survey of
Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (11th UN-CTS )
during 2007-08. The major goal of the survey was to collect the data on incidence of
reported crimes and operations of criminal justice system. India has also participated
in the survey. The survey results provide an overview of trends and interrelationships
between various parts of the criminal justice system to promote informed decision-
making in administration, nationally and internationally. The First & Second UN-CTS
was conducted during 1970-80. Present CTS questionnaire pertains to 2014 .

37.5 The information maintained by UNODC includes :

 Statistics on Crime : Homicide, assaults sexual violence, robbery , kidnapping,

theft burglary , drug related crime .
 Statistics on Drug Use.
  Statistics on Criminal Justice: Persons prosecuted, convicted, detained ,
Criminal Justice system resources etc.

37.6 Procedure for Collection of Crime Statistics: The flow of information starts
from the Police stations wherein the cognizable offence is reported in the form of
First Information Report (FIR).FIR sets the process of Criminal Justice in motion.
The information thereafter flows from District Crime Record Bureaus to State Crime
Record Bureau and the same is finally consolidated by National Crime Records
Bureau .

37.7 Genesis of National Crime Records Bureau : Setting up of National Crime

Records Bureau was recommended by the National Police Commission set up in
1977 . Accepting the recommendations, the Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a
Task Force in 1985 to work out the modalities for setting up of the National Crime
Records Bureau (NCRB). The Government accepted the recommendations of the
Task Force and constituted the NCRB with headquarters at New Delhi in January,
1986. The objectives of the Bureau are :
i. To function as a clearing house of information on crime and
criminals including those operating at National and International
levels so as to assists the investigators, and others in linking
crimes to their perpetrators.
ii. To store, coordinate and disseminate information on inter-state
and international criminals from and to respective States,
national investigating agencies, courts and prosecutors in India
without having to refer to the Police Station records.
iii. To collect and process crime statistics at the National level.
Major Issues :
37.8 Major issues pertaining to crime statistics include :

i. Large extent of non-reporting/ recording of crime/ offences at different levels of

administration, particularly with reference to non-cognizable offences having social
implications
ii. Inadequate coverage of crime heads – under-coverage due to non-reporting for
identified reasons.
iii. Reliability – systemic biases, errors due to overlaps between different sections of
IPC, outreach to vulnerable (women, children and backward communities).
iv. Timeliness – rationalization of data flow.
v. Identification of new types of crime/ offences for collection of statistics thereon.

37.9 The above issues were discussed by Committee on Crime Statistics constituted
in October, 2010 by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. Crime is
a state subject and state governments might be sensitive to the number of cases
reported in their domains. States with better reporting systems or more empowered
and educated public might record higher rates of crime. Further, in lot of cases the
offended person may not report the crime out of social considerations or out of the
fear of consequences eg. crime against women, children etc . Hence the
comparisons across the states and across categories of crime must always be done
with caution .

Terms & Definitions : 37.10 The Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C) India classifies
all the crimes into two categories :
 Cognizable Crime : Sec. 2 ( C ) Cr PC
 Non Cognizable Crime: Sec 2 (I ) Cr PC

(I) Cognizable Crime : A cognizable offence or case is defined as the one which an
officer in-charge of a police station may investigate without the order of a magistrate
and effect arrest without warrant. Cognizable crimes are broadly categorised as
those falling either under the `Indian Penal Code (IPC)' or under the `Special and
Local Laws (SLL)'

(II) Non Cognizable Crime : Non-Cognizable crimes are defined as those which can
not be investigated by police without the order of a competent magistrate. Police do
not initiate investigation in non-cognizable crimes except with magisterial permission.

(III) Broad classification of crimes under the Indian penal code (IPC) :
i) Crimes against body: Murder, Attempt to commit murder, Culpable homicide not
amounting to murder,Kidnapping & Abduction, Hurt,Causing death by negligence;
ii) Crimes against property: Dacoity, Preparation and assembly to commit Dacoity,
Robbery, Burglary and Theft;
iii) Crimes against public order: Riots and Arson;
iv) Economic crimes: Criminal breach of trust, Cheating & Counterfeiting;
v) Crimes against women: Rape, Dowry death, Cruelty by husband or his relatives,
Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty, Insult to the modesty of
women and Importation of girl from foreign country;
vi) Crimes against children: Child rape, Kidnapping & abduction of children,
Procuration of minor girls, Selling and buying of girls for prostitution, Abetment of
suicide, Exposure and Abandonment, Infanticide and foeticide;
vii) Other IPC crimes.
(IV)Crimes under the Special and Local Laws (SLL)
i) Arms Act, 1959; ii) Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985;
iii) Gambling Act, 1867; iv) Excise Act, 1944; v) Prohibition Act;
vi) Explosives & Explosive Substances Act, 1884 & 1908;
vii) Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956; viii) Indian Railways Act, 1989;
ix) The Foreigners Act, 1946; x) Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955;
xi) Passport Act, 1967; xii) Essential Commodities Act, 1955;
xiii) Antiquities & Art Treasures Act, 1972; xiv) Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961;
xv) Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006;
xvi) Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986;
xvii) Copyright Act, 1957; xiii) Commission of Sati Prevention Act, 1987;
xix) SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989; xx) Forest Act, 1927;
xxi) Other crimes (not specified above) under Special and Local Laws including
Cyber Laws under Information Technology Act (IT), 2000.
(V) Incidence of Crime : Number of crime reported under Indian Penal Code(IPC)
or Special & Local Laws(SLL).
(VI) Rate of Crime : Number of crime reported per lakh person in the target
Population .

Past Trends: 37.11 As per the number of cases reported, the total cognizable
crime under IPC in general has been showing a rising trend except for the years
1954, 1955, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1993 and 2003, in which the
declining trend was observed. The total during 2013 was 26,47,722 recording an
increase of 339.8 % over 1953 when 6,01,964 cases were reported.
3
Incidence of Total Cognizable Crime under IPC
2
Millions

0
1953 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2012 2013

37.12 Under SLLs 10-year and 5-year trend analysis shows, 5.7% increase from the 2003
level and 2.6% decrease over the average of last 5 years (2008 – 2012).

Cyber crimes, though comparatively recent have increased with increasing use of IT.

Cyber Crime Cases Registred under IT Act during 2009-2013

 Trends of some major crime heads (IPC) over years 1953-2013

Head wise categorization of crime

reveals that among major heads,
Dacoity and Burglary / House breaking
have being showing a declining trend
over a period of 60 years. Burglary /
House breaking has declined by 29.2%
(from 1,47,379 in 1953 to 1,04,401 in
2013) and Dacoity has declined by
18.6% (from 5,579 in 1953 to 4,539 in
2013).

Growth in cases of Rape and

Kidnapping & Abduction on the other
hand, has outpaced the average growth
of all cognizable crime under IPC (333.8
%) since 1953 with 1255.3 and 1144.3
% increase respectively. Murder has
increased by 238.7 % (from 9,802 in
1953 to 33,201 in 2013); Robbery by
279.8% (from 8,407 in 1953 to 31,927 in
2013) and Riots by 251.3% (from 20,529
in 1953 to 72,126 in2013)

The IPC crime rate has increased by 34.1%

during the decade 2003-2013 from 160.7 in
the year 2003 to 215.5 in the year 2013. It
has increased by 14.7% during the year
2013 as compared with quinquennial
average (during 2008-2012).

NCRB started collecting data on Rape since 1971 only.

37.13 Crime Statistics India - 2013 : A total of 26,47,722 cases registered under various
sections of IPC crimes were reported in the country during the year 2013 against 23,87,188
in the year 2012 recording an increase of 10.9% . The IPC crime rate at 215.5 during 2013
witnessed an increase of 9.6% from the previous year . A total of 39,92,656 SLL crimes were
reported in the country during the year 2013 showing an increase of 9.3% over the year 2012
(36,54,371cases). The rate of crime under SLLs has also shown an increase of 7.9% as
compared to the year 2012 (301.2). The rate of total cognizable crimes (IPC + SLL) was
reported as 540.4 in the year 2013 showing a decrease of 5.3% over the year 2009 and an
increase of 8.5% over 2012.
37.14 During 2013, highest rate of crime (including IPC and SLLs) was reported in
case of crime against women (52.2) followed by property crimes (42.0). Rate of crime
against children increased significantly from 8.9 in 2012 to 13.2 in 2013 and that
against SC’s from 16.7 to 19.6, highlighting the continued need of protecting the
vulnerable section of the society.

37.15 A total of 4,356 cyber crime cases were registered under IT Act during the year
2013 as compared to 2,876 cases during the previous year (2012), thus showing an
increase of 51.5% in 2013 over 2012. 15.6% of total such cases (681 out of 4,356
cases) were reported from Maharashtra followed by Andhra Pradesh (635 cases),
Karnataka (513 cases), Uttar Pradesh (372 cases) and Kerala (349 cases).

Source : Crime In India ,2013 NCRB

A4 & A11 are part of crime against women also, A6,A7 & A8 are part of property crimes also.
 Percentage Distribution of IPC Crimes during 2013

37.16 Statewise Incidence & Rate of Crime : During 2013 , Maharashtra has
reported highest percentage share of total IPC cases reported (8.9%) followed by Madhya
Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh (8.6% each), Andhra Pradesh (8.2%),Tamil Nadu (7.7%) and
Rajasthan(7.4%) whereas Kerala continues to report the highest crime rate (502.2)
for IPC crimes followed by Madhya Pradesh (303.8), Tamil Nadu (297.6) and
Rajasthan (279.2).

Rate of IPC Crime 2013 (All India 215.5)

37.17 Police Infrastructure: As on 31.12.2013 existing (actual) police strength was

17.3 lakh against the sanctioned strength of 22.4 lakh of total police force (civil and
armed combined), rendering 22.8% posts as vacant. The density of police personnel
(i.e. police personnel per 100 Sq Kms ) increased to 54.7 from 52.9 in the previous
year and the ratio of policeman per lakh population increased to 141 from 138 in the
previous year . Delhi and Chandigarh reported highest police density (in excess of
5000 policemen per 100 Sq Km).

37.18 Arrests and Arrest Rate : A total of 35,23,577 persons were arrested by the
police under various IPC crimes during 2013 as against 32,70,016 persons in 2012
showing an increase of 7.8% whereas 44,67,963 persons were arrested under the
SLL crimes during 2013 as compared to 41,50,075 persons during 2012 accounting
for an increase of 7.7% .The highest increase in the arrests in case of crimes under
IPC was observed for cases of ‘Assault on women with intent to outrage her
modesty’ 53.5% (from 56,827 in 2012 to 87,229 in 2013) followed by ‘Rape’ 35.3%
(from 31,117 in 2012 to 42,115 in 2013). Highest decline was observed in
counterfeiting 12.7% (from 2,814 in 2012 to 2,456 in 2013). The highest increase in
arrests in case of crimes under SLLs was found under ‘Indecent Representation of
Women (P) Act’ (126.3%) followed by ‘Prohibition of Child Marriage Act’ (66.8%),
‘Dowry Prohibition Act’ (40.3%) and ‘Protection of Civil Rights Act’ (27.5%).

37.19 In case of crimes under IPC, arrest rate (Number of arrests per case) for
burglary, theft and causing death by negligence were reported to be comparatively
lower than their respective crime rate to the extent that not even one person per case
was arrested for these crimes .The pattern of crime rate and arrest rate under IPC
during last five years is charted below

37.20 Disposal of persons arrested by Police: A total of 43,54,868 persons were

either under custody or on bail during the year 2013 in connection with crimes
pertaining to IPC. For 34,94,804 cases, registered under various sections of IPC
offences, under investigation by police, Police could file charge sheets against
32,45,123 persons (74.5% of total arrestees). Out of the total persons who were
under arrest, 4.6% of arrested persons (2,01,589) were either released or freed by
police before trial and 20.9% persons (9,08,156) remained under custody or on bail
at the end of the year as police investigation could not be completed in their cases.

37.21 In case of crimes under SLLs a total of 47,75,484 persons including those
from the previous years were either in custody or on bail at the beginning of the year
and their cases were under disposal with police during the year 2013. Police could
charge-sheet 41,96, 833 persons of the total arrested persons, which accounted for
87.9% of the total arrestees and whose cases were under investigation during this
period. The percentage of persons released before trial and persons under
investigation at the end of year 2013 were observed as 5.3% and 6.8% respectively.

37.22 Disposal of persons arrested by Courts: In crimes under IPC, as many as

1,76, 60,316 persons (including those from previous years) were awaiting trials in
various criminal courts in the country during 2013 , an increase of 4.4% over the last
year (1,69,23,430). The disposal of such arrested persons was pending to an extent
of 85.0% (1,50,18, 970 out of 1,76,60,316 persons) at the end of the year.

37.23 A total of 1,09,88,709 persons (as against 1,01,66,413 in the year 2012) were
facing trial in various criminal courts for the offences committed under various SLL
crimes, registering an increase of 8.1% over 2012. Trials were completed against 37,
31,355 persons of the total arrested persons, out of which 32,74,385 persons were
convicted for these offences. The conviction percentage in SLL cases during 2013
was 87.8%. The pendency for trial was lower (65.5%) during 2013 as compared to
2012 (66.8%).

References:

 Website of United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

 Crime in India 2013, National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs
& other information available on the website of National Crime Records
Bureau.