Is the crime rate reduced after applying laws?
Author:- Saloni Chandar Patil
Keywords:- Crime rate, law, India, prevention, National Crime Records Bureau, investigation, surveillance, constitutional
What is a crime in law? Why are laws important? Does the Law prevent crime? Is the crime rate reduced even after applying constitutionally based laws? Do individuals even intend to follow the law instead of committing a crime? Along with these, questions regarding the rate of crime and violation of laws taken into consideration in the year 2022 have eventually increased today due to the incidents taking place in India. Well, Law is considered one of the main factors to reduce crimes in society, but does it do so…?
If we logically state Law and Crime in Law
“Law is the discipline and profession concerned with the customs, practices, and rules of conduct of a community that is recognized as binding by community” whereas “Crime, is the intentional commission of an act usually deemed socially harmful or dangerous and specifically defined, prohibited and punishable under criminal law”.
However, to determine peace within a society where everyone feels safe and secure is the main aim of enacting laws, rules, and regulations. Law plays a major role in conveying fear within the minds of offenders of not committing the crime. The main purpose of the law is to establish standards, maintain order, resolve disputes, and protect liberty and rights. The laws that govern criminal law in India are Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and The Criminal Procedure Code, 1774 ( CrPC). The IPC provides for substantive law to be filled in case a crime has been committed and the CrPC for the procedure to be filled during investigation and trial by the police at court.
Crime Rate in India
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, India is one of the most popular countries regarding various subjects. The total population is about 1.3 billion. However, with a large number of people, crime and security concerns have always been major topics of discussion. The States reporting the highest Charge-sheeting Rate under IPC Crimes are Gujarat (97.1%), Kerala (94.9%), and Tamil Nadu (91.7%). Among states, Kerala has the highest crime rate, and Nagaland has the lowest crime rate in 2021. Overall, considering the Union Territories Delhi has the highest crime rate, and Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have the lowest crime rate in 2021.
10 Indian States with the most number of crimes :
1. Uttar Pradesh:
The per capita crime rate of UP is 7.4. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, this ratio means that Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of crimes, and thus, the state is unsafe to travel alone.
2. Arunachal Pradesh:
The crime rate and other factors have made the state responsible for coming second in danger. Traveling alone after dark is banned in many areas of Arunachal Pradesh. The crime rate is around 5.8 and it is increasing with the increasing number of crimes.
3. Jharkhand:
Jharkhand is another state which should not be missed from the point of view of danger. Little has been done for the safety of the people. Many criminal cases are not even registered in the police files. Talking about the ratio, the per capita crime rate in the state has been recorded at 5.3.
4. Meghalaya:
Meghalaya ranks fourth in terms of security and crime. Some areas in Meghalaya are said to be unsafe for travel and restricted for people. In recent reports, the state was declared with crimes per capita of 5.1 and is considered one of the top dangerous states in India.
5. Delhi:
Although Delhi ranks fifth, the state has a crime rate of 5 per capita as per the crime bureau. The sad fact is that despite the reign of political power in the state; Very little needs to be done in terms of its safety.
6. Assam:
Ranks sixth in terms of crime rate in India. As compared to other states, Assam has registered a crime ratio of 4.4 per capita in India. We are yet to go with 4 more top dangerous states in India.
7. Chhattisgarh:
Crime has also increased to a great extent in Chhattisgarh. The state has a crime rate rating of 4 per capita and this is an alarming number. This place is considered unsafe for many reasons, especially for women.
8. Haryana:
Haryana has a per capita crime rate of 3.8. The state is known for robbery, theft, bribery, murder, rape, and more. Thus, the political powers are trying to take stringent measures to control the crime rate. It is also called one of the 10 most dangerous states of India.
9. Odisha:
It also shares 3.8 per capita crimes in India. The place is known for larceny, theft, and bribery. Various areas have been targeted for drugs and drunkenness. It has also spoiled the youth to a great extent in drug addiction.
10. Andhra Pradesh:
Last but not least in crime rates in Andhra Pradesh. The state has increased to a 3.6 per capita ratio of crime in India.
Crime Rate Records in Delhi
Now, specifically talking about the city with the highest crime rate in India, that is Delhi, the National Crime Records Bureau reported 3,140 heinous crime cases till July 15 this year compared to 2,790 on July 15, 2021. Heinous crime cases in the national capital have seen an almost 13 percent rise in the first six months of 2022 compared to the corresponding period last year, Delhi Police data showed. The non-heinous crime cases have increased by eight percent during the same period, it stated. In the category of non-heinous cases, house theft incidents have increased by 553 percent from 1,158 in 2021 to 7,561 in 2022.
Delhi reported 3,140 heinous crime cases till July 15 this year compared to 2,790 on July 15, 2021. The number of non-heinous cases in 2022 and 2021 was 1,55,980 and 1,44,332. The city witnessed 277 cases of murder, an almost 18 percent rise from 235 in 2021. Similarly, the cases of attempt to murder and robbery have increased by around 32 and 10 percent respectively, it stated. A total of 473 cases of murder attempts were registered in 2022 and 360 such cases were registered in 2021.
Robbery Cases
The cases of robbery have gone up from 1,110 in 2021 to 1,221 in 2022. The burglary incidents have increased by 112 percent from 1,362 in 2021 to 2,893 in 2022, it said. The cases of snatching surged by 12 percent and fatal accidents by 18 percent. Delhi reported 5,024 cases of snatching and 690 cases of fatal accidents this year, while the data for both incidents was 4,468 and 583 respectively last year. In 2022, the national capital reported 19,548 cases of motor vehicle theft and the numbers were 18,814 in 2021. While the cases of hurt were 885 in 2022, it was 608 in 2021, it said. The current year witnessed nine cases of dacoity, while it was eight cases in 2021. Kidnapping for ransom cases decreased from five to eight and riot cases went up by around 53 percent from 36 to 55, as per the data.
Crime Prevention in India:
In India, the crime rate is increasing every passing day and the burden on our justice system also keeps increasing while it is trying to cope-up with the previous criminal cases. It has become a never-ending cycle of crime and because of this reason, India needs effective crime prevention policing. Most often, Reactive Policing is witnessed in India which means that when a crime has already taken place, our justice system then responds to it. Due to this ineffective policing, India is facing a higher crime rate. Proactive Policing should be adopted to avoid the occurrence of a crime and reduce the increasing rate of crime in a country like India which in turn will reduce the burden on the justice system. It also involves the examination of crime trends and educating the communities about crime prevention.
Crime prevention, if avoided at the local level, can be avoided at a large scale. The role of the police is very crucial in preventing crime at a local level. As they can regularly observe the surroundings and anticipate an occurrence of a crime. India as a developing country, adopts new methods and technology to increase its growth prospectus. Despite being a developing country, it is often noticed that India is against the backdrop of technological advancements, particularly concerning the investigational work of the police. Prevention of crime can only be done at the local level if there are ample resources available for the police. Therefore technological advancements are necessarily required for the effective reduction of crime.
Steps to reduce Crime Rate
Law enforcement agencies or police can carry out crime prevention by performing functions such as:-
1. Surveillance
Police surveillance is one of the activities that are used for crime prevention and is also considered effective. Prevention of crime by surveillance is done through ‘deterrence’ and creates fear in the mind of criminals that police are observing and have a constant presence. Although, if a crime occurs in an under
surveillance place, it benefits the police in the way that they would have evidence for investigation and/or would alert them for a reaction to the crime that occurred. Surveillance is mostly done through CCTV and this technology is most useful as it is considered evidence in a criminal case and can be used for prosecution. However, crime can also be displaced to a place of non-surveillance and it is upon the authorities to prevent it accordingly.
2. Offender Tracking
Another activity to prevent crime is offender tracking. Offender Tracking system contains information about prisoners or previously prosecuted criminals and that information makes it easy for police to catch the actual perpetrator. However, India is still struggling with technology that supports the offender tracking system and offenders often turn loose due to this lag in the system. An offender tracking system with better technology can escalate public safety.
3. Crime Analysis
The Crime analysis means the analysis of crime data recorded by the police. Crime analysis can be helpful in crime prevention as it would disclose the ‘pattern’ by which a crime is occurring. Police can determine what will be the next move of a possible criminal. Crime analysis also includes basic crime statistics calculation and the representation should be geographical and the mapping software is used to do this representation. The usage of crime mapping and data geocoding is very wide in terms of police departments, particularly with large population areas.
Problems Faced in Crime Prevention
The rate of crime in India or any other country is increasing day by day and while the justice system is attempting to punish the guilty, another crime takes place. In a society, every other activity can be associated with criminality so there are several factors to blame for the occurrence of a crime and there has not been a clear-cut approach to eliminate these factors. However, the adoption of crime prevention activities by the police also does not guarantee that crime will be prevented or even reduced. The public at large has to be involved and educated about the activities and programs for crime prevention. So that crime is prevented at the grass-root level of society.
Safety and protection of the citizens are the key aspects of crime prevention. Although the police and government must protect the citizens of the country, crime cannot be prevented if every person is not involved. Crime prevention is everyone’s business and not only the police. Local communities should regularly observe their surroundings and first-hand tackle any occurrence of a crime. Crime prevention is needed to be dealt with at the local level because it is the inception of greater crimes. Also, the public should be provided with information about the circumstances and problems of society. It develops a sense of responsibility and individualism among people. Therefore, crime prevention is important for the security of people.
Need for Innovation
There is a need for innovation in policing to prevent crime in society. Although there is an availability of the latest technology in India yet the police have not accepted the resources that are provided to address the problem of crime prevention at large and effectively. This is so because police officers are not trained or have the skills to use modern technology and they prefer the traditional approach to prevent crime. Innovative policing is key to preventing crime at a faster rate and it must be the top priority of the police force in every nation.
Strict laws and better implementation
The combination of strict law and better implementation is essential. Strict law along with better implementation would give the required result as neither strict law alone nor better implementation could work alone to prevent crime from society. The long procedures of the court in which the victim seeks justice for herself/himself have to wait for years due to which the victim loses hope and the accused gets an escape.
Such a late and lengthy process creates doubt in the mind of the public as they know that if they bring any case before the court. It is not possible to get justice on time. The cause of such doubt is lenient laws and bad implementation. When the authorities would work effectively it would help the judiciary to reach their conclusion soon and the strict laws would deter the public from committing crimes again. Both together would thus prevent crimes in the country and establish peace.
Conclusion
Enacting strict laws alone could not fulfill the problems in the country neither can better implementation could. To establish peace, reduce crime, and create fear in the mind of potential offenders, strict laws must be implemented in a better way. Thus strict laws along with better implementation would help the country to work efficiently. India’s law enforcing authorities, and the government needs to understand the situation of the present time and in respect of the increasing crime rates they should enact such laws that would deter the public if such crime even happens then the implementation should be in such a way that the culprits are caught soon and punished then justice would prevail in its true sense.
“Justice shall prevail” is a statement which is present in all agitations, determinations, and contentions but the point is whether justice is prevailing where the victim or his/her parents have to struggle for years or where the accused gets acquitted due to lack of proof. The bitter truth is NO. Justice will not prevail until the procedure and investigation are quick, efficient, and honest. Justice would prevail that day when there will be no news regarding rape cases or any such case that raise a question about the existence of humanity.
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