Even though crime cases in India saw a 6% dip in 2024, recording 58.85 lakh cases as against 2023’s 62.41 lakh cases, cyber crimes saw an almost 18% jump in the period, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Wednesday.
Economic offences rose by 4.6% in the period. While 2,04,973 cases were registered in the category in 2023, the figure stood at 2,14,379 cases in 2024.
A total of 1,01,928 cases were registered under the cyber crimes category, showing an increase of 17.9% from 2023 when 86,420 cases were lodged. Crime rate under this category increased from 6.2 in 2023 to 7.3 in 2024.
Child safety, too, remained a concern with 98,375 children going missing in 2024 – a 7.8% increase from 91,296 in 2023. These included 75,603 girls, 22,768 boys and four transgender children.
During the year, 27,049 cases of murder were registered, showing a marginal decline of 2.4% over the previous year, with disputes being the leading motive behind the crimes, followed by personal vendetta or enmity, and gain.
Crime against women saw a marginal dip.
“Crime against women showed a dip of 1.5% from the previous year, with 4.41 lakh cases lodged in 2024 as compared to 4.48 lakh the previous year. Cruelty by husband or relatives was the leading cause of such crimes, followed by kidnapping, crime against minors, assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty,” the report said.
In terms of cyber crimes, 72.6% of such cases registered in 2024 were for the motive of fraud (73,987 out of 1,01,928 cases) followed by sexual exploitation (3.1% with 3,190 cases), and extortion with 2.5% (2,536 cases).
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Crime rate, which is a measure of cases registered per lakh population, saw a dip during the period – from 448.3 in 2023 to 418.9 in 2024.
Forgery, cheating, and fraud (FCF) dominated economic offences, accounting for a staggering 1,92,382 cases – nearly 90% of the total.
Criminal breach of trust followed with 21,251 cases.
In 2024, crimes against foreigners ticked up 8% to 257 cases from 238 in 2023, with theft (62 cases) and violations under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (25 cases) leading areas of concern. “Of 317 victims, 64% (or 203) hailed from Asia and 15.1% (or 48) from Africa,” the report said.
The figure of foreigners committing crimes also rose 9.7% to 2,792 cases. In this category, 46.6% or 1,301 cases were under the Foreigners Act and Registration of Foreigners Act while 19.5% or 544 cases were under Passport Act, the report said.
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According to the report, the crime rate registered per lakh women population was 64.6 in 2024 in comparison with 66.2 in 2023.
The number of cases registered against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) also saw a decline.
“A total of 55,698 cases were registered for crimes against SCs, showing a decrease of 3.6% over 2023, when 57,789 cases were registered. Crimes against STs also showed a sharp decline of 23.1%, with a total of 9,966 cases in 2024, as compared to 12,960 cases in 2023,” the report said.
Among 55,698 cases against SCs, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of cases at 14,642, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 7,765 and Bihar with 7,549 cases. Among UTs, Delhi recorded the highest number of crimes against SCs, followed by Jammu and Kashmir with 19 cases, and Chandigarh with five cases, according to the data.
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“Of 9,966 cases of crimes against STs, Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of such cases at 3,165, followed by Rajasthan with 2,282 and Maharashtra with 830 cases. Among UTs, Delhi reported the highest number of crimes against STs in 2024,” it said.
Data further shows that the highest number of cases and crime rate among metropolitan cities in terms of Child in Conflict with the Law (CCL) were recorded in Delhi. Here, 42 out of every one lakh minors were allegedly found involved in such cases. “Delhi recorded 2,306 such cases in 2024 as compared with 2,278 cases – highest among all metro cities. After Delhi, Chennai recorded 466 cases of crimes committed by CCLs in 2024 while Bengaluru reported 386 such cases,” it said.