NCRB 2022 Report on Crime in India

NCRB 2022 Report on Crime in India

News: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released its annual report on crime in India for the year 2022.

Key Findings:
• The 2022 NCRB report indicates a total of 58,24,946 cognizable crimes, comprising 35,61,379 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 22,63,567 Special & Local Laws (SLL) crimes.
• When compared to 2021 it shows a decrease of 4.5% in the registration of cases.
• The crime rate, calculated as crimes registered per lakh population, declined from 445.9 in 2021 to 422.2 in 2022.
• Reporting of cybercrime saw a significant increase of 24.4 percentage points compared to 2021, with 65,893 cases reported. Fraud accounted for around 64.8% of these cases, followed by extortion (5.5%) and sexual exploitation (5.2%).
• Crimes Against Women: In 2022, there were 4,45,256 cases of crimes against women, marking a 4% increase from the 2021 figures. The majority of these crimes under IPC sections included Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives (31.4%), Kidnapping & Abduction of Women (19.2%), and Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty (18.7%).
• There was a 4.2% increase in reported suicides in 2022, totaling 1,70,924 suicides. Leading causes included Family Problems (other than marriage-related problems) (31.7%), Marriage Related Problems (4.8%), and Illness (18.4%). The male-to-female ratio of suicide victims was 71.8: 28.2.
• States and Union Territories (UTs) reporting the highest charge sheeting rates under IPC crimes included Kerala (96.0%), Puducherry (91.3%), and West Bengal (90.6%). This rate signifies the percentage of cases where the police proceeded to frame charges against the accused out of the total true cases.

Issues with report:
• The NCRB data only reflects crimes that have been reported, not all crimes that have been committed.
• Data submitted from the local level to NCRB can contain inaccuracies due to local recording practices. For instance, the recorded motive for a suicide is subjective to the understanding of the officer on the
• The NCRB acknowledges the exclusion of socio-economic factors influencing crime from its data.
• Fear of negative police interaction may deter some from reporting crimes.

About NCRB:
• It was formed in 1986 and it is a branch of India’s Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The agency is tasked with gathering and scrutinizing crime statistics as outlined by the Indian Penal Code and various Special and Local Laws.
• It is known for its “Crime in India” report and it also releases the “Prisons Statistics India Report”.