At fourth position — after Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh — Karnataka accounts for 6.7 per cent of the total number of crimes reported in the country during 2011.
The detailed crime statistics for 2011, published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its report, Crime in India-2011 , reveal that Karnataka’s crime rate, pegged at 225.1 (crimes registered per one lakh population) has declined. In real terms, the numbers of crimes per lakh population have come down from 242 in 2010 to 225.1.
However, compared to the national average of 192.2, Karnataka is still fairly high on the crime chart. By this indicator, the State ranks 22 in terms of the crimes rate in 2011, compared to being ranked the eighth worst last year.
The crime rate
Bangalore which accounts for just over a tenth of the State’s population has a crime rate of 356.3 in 2011. In 2010, this number was pegged at 556 per lakh population. The IT city accounts for 6.3 per cent of the total number of IPC crimes registered in 53 mega cities (with a population of over 10 lakh) across the country, compared to 8.7 per cent last year.
Overall, Bangalore ranks 16 among the 53 mega cities in terms of cases registered. It is behind New Delhi, Kanpur and Mumbai which have accounted for 9.9 per cent, 7.3 per cent and 6.7 per cent of the 4.75 lakh cognisable crimes under the IPC were reported in 2011.
Bangalore has reported the highest incidence of cheating (3,155 cases), robbery (783 cases) and ‘preparation and assembly for dacoity’ (342 cases) among the mega cities. It also features among the police districts that have recorded more than 10,000 IPC crimes during 2011 with 30,283, and ranks third in the list, just behind Ernakulam (Rural) and Mumbai. Another worrying statistic is that of reported ‘violent crimes’, where 11.8 per cent of the total crimes in Karnataka were classified as violent. This accounted for over 10,000 reported cases last year.
The entire gamut
The statistics released cover a wide range of crimes from cyber crimes to atrocity cases registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Reading the fine print in several categories of crime, Bangalore seems to either be ahead or reporting more crimes.
For instance, when it comes to crimes against women, Bangalore is second in terms of percentage share of the total number of crimes against women reported in the country.
This makes Bangalore second only to Delhi in terms of safety for women.
Dowry cases
Further, the number of dowry cases registered in Karnataka has also gone up by 27.2 per cent with a total of 1,210 cases being registered. Here, the State ranks third behind Andhra Pradesh (1,899) and Bihar (1,393). Murders have nationally seen a rise of 2.9 per cent, with Karnataka contributing to 32.1 per cent of the total murders due to witchcraft (71 out of 240).
The total numbers of cases of hacking registered here too are higher than other cities, as is the number of online offences related to posting of obscene content.
Police sources who spoke to The Hindu attributed this to increased awareness and better reporting on such crimes.
