Crime graph goes south in Rajasthan in last 2 years

Crime in Rajasthan has come down in the last two years, a first in almost a decade, police data reveals.

The state recorded a drop of 5.86% in 2015 and 8.93% in 2016 in major crimes that invite action under provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to the crime branch data. Major cognizable offences -- murder, attempt to murder, loot, theft and kidnapping – have come down.

In all, 1,80,398 crime cases were registered in 2016, compared to 1,98,080 in 2015 – a drop of 8.93%.

Officials attribute the decrease in serious crimes to better policing and registration of more cases under local and special acts.

“The increase in cases under local and special acts, such as Gambling Act, Excise Act, Arms Act and NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act, indicate better policing because many of the people arrested under these acts are known troublemakers and if not stopped can go on committing serious offences,” additional director general of police (crime) Pankaj Kumar Singh told HT on Monday.

In 2016, the number of cases registered under local and special acts increased by 10.38% in Rajasthan. Singh said state-wide arrest drives have contributed to drop in crimes.

“Last year for the first time we initiated state-wide drives to arrest those who faced warrants. This is another reason why the crime graph has come down in the state,” Singh said.

For the first time in almost a decade, crimes in the state came down by 5.86% in 2015. After taking into consideration the decrease in the total number of major crimes and increase in cases under the local and special acts, the overall decrease in the number of cases registered in 2016 stands at 4.21%.

“If the increase in local and special acts shows a corresponding decrease in the cases of major IPC crimes, it means that there has been a positive impact and the crime graph has seen an actual decrease. I would say that this is a good sign,” said Omendra Bhardwaj, former Rajasthan DGP.