‘Increased use of online portals for registering FIR led to rise in reported cases’

The percentage of crime reported in the Capital in 2017 has increased by 12.03% compared to 2016, show data released by the Delhi Police on Thursday. The statistics were released at the annual press conference held at the Convention Centre.

The data, however, show that the percentage of heinous crime like rape, murder, dacoity, robbery has come down by 23.43%.

Influx of migrants

The total number of cases registered in 2017 stands at 2,23,075 against the 1,99,110 cases registered in 2016. Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik said the reason behind increase in percentage of crime reported was increasing use of online registration of FIRs.

“Reasons for increase in IPC crimes is the rising trend of online crime reporting and registration of e-FIR by the public through mobile and web without going to the police station,” said Mr. Patnaik.

Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) R.P. Upadhyay said one of the reasons is influx of migrant population. “A lot of people come to the Capital from different States and urban anonymity encourages deviant behaviour. They are not scared of being caught knowing that people don’t know them,” he said.

The police stressed that this increase also includes more petty crimes like snatching, burglary or theft. According to the data, the number of heinous crimes reported have decreased compared to the previous year, even though only marginally in some heads.

Robberies come down

For instance, the number of murder cases registered in 2016 were 501 and there was a marginal decrease in 2017 with 462 cases registered. The number of robberies, however, witnessed a significant decrease, the data show. Total number of robbery cases registered in 2016 was 4,585 and in 2017, it reduced to 2,833.

The data also show that crimes reported against women have gone down but the number of rape cases has only scene a dip of 15 cases in 2017 as compared to 2016. Molestation of women and eve-teasing, however, have come down by 18.8% and 30.54% respectively. According to the data, the percentage of solved rape cases was 92% as opposed to 86% in 2016.

The police said that the reason behind this downward trend and increased percentage was due to improved policing and awareness campaigns. “I personally met beat officers at several occasions and informed them of our priorities — women’s safety being at the top,” said Mr. Patnaik.

Keeping pace with tech

According to the police, 96% of rapes in the Capital were committed by persons known to the victim and only 3.37% were by those unknown.

Mr. Patnaik said the focus of the force’s vision for 2018 will be on women’s safety, prevention of street crime, anti-terror preparedness, and sharpening response to distress calls. To keep pace with technology, the Delhi Police have inducted a Chief Technology Officer, he announced on Thursday.