Delhi saw 309 cases of rape during the first two months of this year, up slightly from 307 last year, but reported cases of robbery and burglary showed a sharp decline.
Overall crime rate fell as the total number of registered crimes fell to 37,953 from 41,433 in the same two months of last year, a decline of 8.4%.
The city state, which was once again crowned No.1 in rapes by the ‘Crime in India’ report of the National Crime Records Bureau, is ruled by directly by the central government through the home ministry.
Given the current run rate, Delhi is likely to see close to 2,000 rapes this year, compared to about 1,500 rapes seen in a city like New York every year.
The numbers for January and February also show that rape cases tend to have higher ‘solve’ rates compared to robbery and theft cases.
For the two months, 71% of the rape cases, or 219 out of 309, were considered ‘solved’ and the perpetrator identified.
During the same two months, there were 79 murders registered by the Delhi Police, out of which 59 murders, or about 75%, are considered to be ‘solved’.
In addition to the murders, Delhi saw 215 people killed in accidents in the two months, compared to 213 people in the same months last year.
THIEVES ON HOLIDAY
The numbers also revealed an ‘alarming’ drop in the number of ‘registered’ robberies, burglaries and snatching this year.
During the first two months, Delhi Police registered 480 cases of robber compared to 563 cases in the first two months of last year — a decline of 15%.
Robbery is considered “a heinous crime” under law as it involves taking money or other valuables from a person using force, while burglary refers to the breaking and entering of a home or other establishment with an intention to commit theft or other crimes.
The total number of cases of burglary fell to 837 in the first two months of this year compared to 2,629 cases last year, a decline of 68%. Cases of ‘house theft’ fell 677 from 2,201 last year.
Similarly, the number of incidents of ‘snatching’ of chains, purses and so on also fell this year to 916 during the two months from 1,459 last year.
There was, however, one type of theft that increased this year.
Cases of vehicle theft increased 7% this year to a whopping 6,604.
Most of the vehicles stolen are cars and motorcycles. To make matters worse, most of these vehicles are never traced.
While murder and rape have ‘solve’ rates of 70%-75%, the solve rate of vehicle theft during the same two months is a abysmal 9.6%.
Similarly, the solve rate for burglary is just 17%.
Even cases of kidnapping remain unsolved more often than not.
Out of 867 cases of kidnapping reported in the two months, only 142, or 16%, have been solved yet.
DELHI POLICE SOLVE RATES (JAN-FEB 2018)
| Dacoity |
3 |
2 |
66.67% |
| Murder |
79 |
59 |
74.68% |
| Attempt to murder |
88 |
74 |
84.09% |
| Robbery |
480 |
327 |
68.13% |
| Riot |
5 |
4 |
80.00% |
| Kidnapping for ransom |
2 |
2 |
100.00% |
| Rape |
309 |
219 |
70.87% |
| Total heinous |
966 |
687 |
71.12% |
| Extortion |
21 |
10 |
47.62% |
| Snatching |
916 |
269 |
29.37% |
| Hurt |
189 |
113 |
59.79% |
| Burglary |
837 |
143 |
17.08% |
| Motor vehicle theft |
6604 |
632 |
9.57% |
| House theft |
677 |
112 |
16.54% |
| Other theft |
22385 |
3328 |
14.87% |
| Molestation of women |
433 |
236 |
54.50% |
| Kidnapping |
867 |
142 |
16.38% |
| Abduction |
69 |
16 |
23.19% |
| Fatal accident |
215 |
101 |
46.98% |
| Simple accident |
812 |
441 |
54.31% |
| Other IPC |
3928 |
2209 |
56.24% |
| Total non-heinous |
37953 |
7752 |
20.43% |
| TOTAL IPC |
38919 |
8439 |
21.68% |