Crime patterns: On the National Crime Records Bureau’s report for 2023.
The 2023 NCRB report shows a sharp rise in cybercrime and crimes against tribals.
The National Crime Records Bureau’s annual reports on crime and prison statistics have to be read with a strong caveat — most of the numbers cannot be compared between States because they are largely dependent upon the registration/reporting of crimes in the first place. However, certain national trends and sharp year-on-year changes within States can still reveal meaningful patterns that could demand policy intervention. The recent NCRB report for 2023 — delayed by a year — points to a worrying trend of postponed surveys, reports and even the Census under the current Union Government. But there are also three telling numbers: the 2.8% decrease in murder cases across the country; a staggering 28.8% surge in crimes against Scheduled Tribes (ST), and a 31.2% increase in cyber crimes. While the decrease in murder cases will come as a relief to law enforcement — most of the cases pertain to disputes, personal vendetta or enmity and “gain” — the other two numbers are alarming. The steep rise in crimes against STs is largely due to the ethnic violence in Manipur, with the registered numbers jumping from just one in 2022 to 3,399 in 2023 — which a more effective government could have mitigated. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan also recorded significantly high crime rates against tribals suggesting their vulnerability in the central Indian States. This is not a new phenomenon; previous NCRB reports have highlighted higher crime rates in regions with significant tribal populations.
With greater Internet penetration across the country, there has been an increase in cybercrime, particularly related to financial fraud and sexual exploitation. Anecdotally, it is evident that these numbers must have gone up even further in the last two years with the greater use of digital financial instruments in daily transactions and investment. While policing has tried to keep up with the growing menace of cybercrime, with specialised cells, the ubiquitousness and deepening spread of digital crimes require more sophistication and dedication by the police to tackle them. Crimes against children rose by 9.2% in 2023 — with the offender known to the victim in 96% of the cases. While the increase could be a function of improved reporting across States, the high number (1,77,335 cases) suggests that States must work on a war footing to sensitise children about these crimes and inappropriate behaviour by adults. A subset of these crimes could also include the application of the POCSO Act in the case of consensual adolescent relationships and this is an area that needs to be carefully handled by the prosecuting and policing agencies. Reported crimes against women registered a modest increase of 0.4%, but this masks a 14.9% spike in dowry-related crimes, pointing to a persistent societal problem.