The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released its "Crime in India 2023" report, revealing a 7.2% increase in registered cognizable crimes compared to 2022. In 2023, 6.24 million cases were registered, which translates to approximately one crime every five seconds. The crime rate per lakh population also saw an increase from 422.2 in 2022 to 448.3 in 2023.

Overall Trends

The NCRB data indicates a complex crime landscape with some types of crime increasing while others decrease. Traditional violent crimes, such as rape and dowry deaths, have shown a decline, while cybercrimes are surging. Metropolitan cities have also seen a sharper growth in crime, with Delhi reporting the highest number of cases. In 2023, metropolitan cities reported 9,44,291 cognizable crimes, a 10.6% increase over the 8,53,470 cases registered in 2022.

Murders

There was a 2.8% decrease in murder cases, with 27,721 cases recorded in 2023 compared to 28,522 in 2022. According to the report, "disputes" were the motive in the highest number of murder cases during 2023, followed by "personal vendetta or enmity" and "gain". In Bihar, personal vendettas or enmity accounted for 703 murders, while property or land disputes led to 500 killings and family quarrels resulted in 345 deaths.

Crimes Against Women and Children

Crimes against women saw a slight increase of 0.7%, with 4,48,211 cases registered. The majority of these cases involved cruelty by husbands or relatives (29.8%), followed by kidnapping and abduction (19.8%), and sexual assault (18.7%). Crimes against children climbed by 9.2%, with over 1.77 lakh cases. Kidnapping and abduction of children (45%) and cases under the POCSO Act (38.2%) were the most reported.

Cybercrime

A significant increase was observed in cybercrimes, which surged by 31.2% to 86,420 cases. Fraud accounted for nearly 69% of these cybercrimes. The rise in cybercrime has been steady, with 27,248 cases in 2018 to 86,420 in 2023. Karnataka reported the highest number of cybercrime cases in 2023, with 21,889 cases.

Crimes Against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs)

Crimes against Scheduled Tribes (STs) spiked by 28.8%, with 12,960 cases in 2023 compared to 10,064 in 2022. The steepest rise was reported in Manipur, which, amid ongoing ethnic violence, reported 3,399 cases against STs, up from just one case in 2022. Crimes against Scheduled Castes (SCs) rose marginally by 0.4%, with 57,789 cases. Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest share of cases with 15,130, followed by Rajasthan (8,449), Madhya Pradesh (8,232), and Bihar (7,064).

Kidnapping and Abduction

Kidnapping and abduction cases rose by 5.6%, with 1,13,564 cases involving over 1.16 lakh victims.

Other Crimes

Offences against property increased by 4.7% to 8,78,307 cases, with theft accounting for the bulk of these. Economic offenses touched 2.04 lakh cases, up 6%, led by forgery, cheating, and fraud.