The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recently made public the ‘Crime in India Report 2020’, a comprehensive account of crime statistics across the nation. Unlike previous years, 2020, characterized by prolonged lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saw a decline in conventional crimes such as those targeting women, children, and the elderly. However, it experienced a significant surge in situations of civil conflicts.
Surge in Civil Conflicts
Civil conflicts, termed as riots in the report, showcased an alarming increase in numbers. Communal riots escalated by an astounding 96% when compared to 2019. Particularly noteworthy was the tally of the Delhi Police which lodged an unprecedented 520 cases of communal riots alone in 2020. Interestingly, Uttar Pradesh (UP), another populous state reported no instances of communal discord last year. Cases related to caste riots rose nearly by half, agricultural disturbances were up by 38% while riots instigated during protests or ‘andolan/morcha’ increased by a third.
Decrease in Traditional Crimes
Despite the spike in civil unrest, traditional crimes witnessed a noteworthy drop. Crimes perpetrated against vulnerable groups such as women, children, and senior citizens, along with cases of theft, burglary, robbery, and dacoity, collapsed by around 200,000. Homicides showed a marginal uptick of 1%, however, overall violent crimes observed a 0.5% decline. Alarmingly, the report identified Delhi as the most precarious city for women, with over 10,093 registered cases of crimes against them in 2020.
Rise in Environment-Related Offences and Cyber Crime
The report also made connections between crime and environmentally harmful activities. Offences connected to environmental degradation swelled by a whopping 78.1%. Concurrency, the rate of cyber crime, quantified as incidents per lakh population, also observed a rise from 3.3% in 2019 to 3.7% in 2020.
Downfall in Offences Against the State
2020 witnessed a significant decline in cases related to offences against the state, with a reduction of 27% from the previous year’s figures. These offences usually encompass cases connected to sedition, waging war against the nation, those falling under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) 1967, Official Secrets Act 1923, and Damage to Public Property Act 1954. UP, however, stood as an exception in this category, recording an increase due to an influx of cases related to ‘Damage to Public Property’ registered during the anti- CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019) protests.
About National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
Established in 1986 under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi. It was created based on the recommendations of the National Police Commission (1977-1981) and the MHA’s Task Force (1985). The Bureau is designed to function as a repository of data related to crime and criminals to assist in investigations and linking crimes to perpetrators. Its annual publication, ‘Crime in India’ report, has been instrumental in understanding the law and order situation across the country since 1953. The bureau also hosted the 2nd CCTNS Hackathon and Cyber Challenge 2020-21 in New Delhi.