Cases of crimes against women down in Delhi but highest among metros

Neeraj Kumar, who was the Delhi police commissioner between 2012 and 2013, said there are many factors which affect crime against women in Delhi.

Crime against women in Delhi decreased in 2017 compared to the previous year but they still remain several times higher than other metros such as Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, according to the National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) report released on Monday.

In response to the crime against women being more compared to other cities, a senior Delhi Police official said that there is free and fair registration of crime across all police stations in Delhi. (AP)

As per the data, Delhi reported 11,542 cases of crime against women in 2017.

The number of the same category of crimes was 13,803 in 2016 and 14,766 in 2015.

According to the report, Mumbai reported 5,453 similar cases, Bengaluru 3,565 cases while Kolkata had 1,975 cases in 2017. The report shows that in all three cities, the crime against women cases had increased since 2015.

Delhi police spokesperson Mandeep Randhawa, deputy commissioner of police, said, “We have controlled heinous crimes in Delhi. We have installed CCTV cameras for women’s safety. We conduct a safety audit of all paying guest accommodations, colleges and spaces which are frequently visited by women. Our officers are in touch with civic agencies to ensure that there are no dark spots in the city. This helps in ensuring women’s safety.”

In response to the crime against women being more compared to other cities, DCP Randhawa said, “There is free and fair registration of crime across all police stations in Delhi. Also, you must look at the population difference. In Delhi, we have launched several mobile-based applications for women safety such as Himmat and Himmat Plus which helps women alert police in distress immediately.”

Neeraj Kumar, who was the Delhi police commissioner between 2012 and 2013, said there are many factors which affect crime against women in Delhi. “One should not look at Delhi in isolation. There is a big difference in population and population density. One must also factor the influx of migrant population.”

The report also shows that the total Indian Penal Code (IPC) crime incidents, which include all cases — heinous and non-heinous — increased from 1,913,77 cases in 2016 to 2,32,066 cases in 2017.

According to the latest NCRB data, while most heinous crime cases declined in 2017 in comparison to the previous years, incidents of crime by juveniles increased from 2,499 in 2016 to 2,965 in 2017.