This is what you feared but hoped was not true - crime-prone Delhi has turned against women, making them the target of assault each day. There are hard facts to prove this.

Delhi Police commissioner BK Gupta addresses the media on Thursday. Delhi Police commissioner BK Gupta addresses the media on Thursday.

New figures released by the Delhi Police reveal that a woman is raped every 18 hours or molested every 14 hours in the Capital. Shockingly, the majority of the attackers are below 25 years.

The crime graph is heading north. Expect it to rise further in 2011, says Delhi Police commissioner Brijesh Kumar Gupta.

A girl is molested every 14 hours in Delhi. A girl is molested every 14 hours in Delhi.

The number of rape cases in the city increased in 2010 over the previous year. In 2009 there were 459 cases of rape reported across the city, while in 2010 the figure was 489. This roughly translates to one rape case every 18 hours.

Provocation for murders. Provocation for murders.

The cases of molestation of women have also increased in 2010. While there were 528 cases of molestation in 2009, such cases went up to 585 in 2010 - or once every 14 hours.

Police investigations have established that the attackers were overwhelmingly from within the circle of family and acquaintances of the victims. Of the persons arrested for rape, only 4 per cent were strangers and 96 per cent were known to victim or her family.

A staggering 56 per cent accused in rape cases were below the age of 25. Similarly in molestation cases, 92 per cent accused were known to the victims. Of the 765 accused arrested, 58 per cent were below the age of 25, the police figures show.

Police chief Gupta said the rise in crime figures in the coming months will also be the result of higher registration of cases to make sure that criminals are pursued and caught.

Acknowledging how the non-registration of cases has played a key role in suppressing the crime rate in the city, the police commissioner felt this also allowed criminals to go scot free.

"The Delhi Police have a detection rate of 87.86 per cent in heinous crimes," Gupta said, adding that the registration of cases will mean that the police would have to investigate and bring criminals to task. This would go a long way in making Delhi a safer place for women.

To do that, the police have charted out a plan they expect will result in quick response and detection after a crime has been committed. Gupta referred to how language barrier had proved to be a big shortcoming in preventing the Dhaula Kuan rape incident in November. The friend of the victim, who spoke English, had tried to relate the abduction of the girl to the police constable on duty, but the latter had failed to understand. This had enabled the criminals to get away.

"The constable was quick to reach to the spot in the Dhaula Kuan Rape case but he couldn't understand English, resulting in a delay of 10-12 minutes," said Gupta. The solution lay in giving the men a basic understanding of English, he added.

Learning from similar experience, Delhi could see a change in its policing pattern this year if the home ministry accepts a proposal to induct 500 sub-inspectors into the force after surrendering 800 posts of constables.

"Delhi is a metropolitan city as well as the capital. Policing in such a scenario is different from other cities and state capitals. Here what we need is an officer-oriented approach. We have moved a proposal to induct 500 sub inspectors in the force by surrendering the posts of 800 constables," said Gupta.

To keep the focus on crimes against women, more women officers will be deployed across police stations. Apart from that a help desk has been started at all police stations to make it easier for women complainants to approach and talk about their problems with the police. "We will conduct special checks in buses during the morning and evening peak hours," said Gupta.

This year the police are emphasising on woman-friendly policing. "Already we have three districts headed by woman IPS officers and four police stations headed by woman inspectors," the police chief said.

Other crimes have shown a rise too - police figures showed there was a 3 per cent rise in overall crime over the previous year. Motor vehicle thefts, for instance, have accounted for about 29 per cent of all crimes registered with the police in 2010.

Going by the figures, about 38 vehicles are reported stolen in a day in the last one year.

The number of motor vehicle thefts has also increased from 11,892 in 2009 to 13,794 cases in 2010. In 2010, there were 3,074 cases of kidnapping as compared to 2,408 in 2009. However, as far as kidnapping for ransom cases is concerned, there were only 16 cases and the police were able to rescue in 15 such cases. In 87 per cent cases, the accused were known to the victim's family. Again, in 2009, the police had registered 47,069 cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), but in 2010 the figure stood at 48,161.

Gupta said 26 police stations across the city have accounted for 50 per cent of the total street crimes recorded in the Capital over the last one year. He said that the police had observed 26 police stations which were prone to street crimes and were on in the process of giving them adequate resources to keep a check on the crime in their area.

Some of the police stations in the outer and south west districts of the Capital where street crime is on the rise are Rohini, Mangolpuri, Dwarka, Prashant Vihar, Sultanpuri and Jahangirpuri. "We are procuring more vehicles from the home ministry that will be given to these police stations. Besides, they will be equipped with modern gadgetry and more manpower to curb the crime," Gupta added.

Gupta said the emphasis on registration of crime would mean a spurt in crime figures for a short term, but would show benefits in the longer run. "Once registered, we will solve them and put the criminals behind bars which will be the best deterrent, unlike non-registration of cases," he said.

However, some police officers are skeptical about this. A senior police officer, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, said, "I doubt if there will ever be any free registration of cases as there is no political will. The moment figures rise a bit, they are highlighted in the media and the Union home ministry pressures the police commissioner to keep the crime figures in check, not necessarily the crimes."

(With inputs from Hakeem Irfan)