NCRB 2023 Data: Decline in Murder and Rape, But Cybercrimes Surge

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released its Crime in India 2023 report, revealing a mixed trend in India’s crime landscape. While heinous crimes like murder and rape declined, overall criminal cases rose sharply, largely due to cybercrimes, rash driving, forgery, and cheating.


Overall Crime Rate in 2023

  • Total crimes registered in 2023: 6.24 million cases (↑7.2% from 2022).

  • Cases under IPC: 3.76 million, ↑5.7% after declines in 2021 and 2022.

  • Cases under Special and Local Laws (SLL): 2.48 million, ↑9.5% from 2022.

  • Crime in India 2023 shows that a crime occurred every 5 seconds on average.


Decline in Heinous Crimes

  • Murder cases declined by 2.8%.

  • Rape cases fell by 5.9%.

  • Dowry deaths decreased by 4.6%.

  • Attempt to rape dropped by 15%.

  • Crimes against women overall rose marginally by 0.7%.

However, offences under “outraging modesty” of women saw a small growth of 0.7%.


Rise in Abductions and Crimes Against Children

  • Abductions rose by 5.6% in 2023.

  • Crimes against children increased by 9.2%.

This indicates a rising vulnerability of children in both urban and rural contexts.


Spike in Crimes Against Scheduled Tribes and Castes

  • Crimes against Scheduled Castes: ↑0.4%.

  • Crimes against Scheduled Tribes: ↑28.8%.

The sharp increase in cases involving Scheduled Tribes highlights a concerning social and law enforcement gap.


Cybercrimes: The Fastest Growing Category

  • Cybercrimes rose by 31.2% in 2023 (↑24% in 2022).

  • Total cases: 86,420.

  • Cheating by personation using computer resources almost doubled → from 13,506 cases in 2022 to 25,334 cases in 2023.

  • IT Act violations formed 96% of IT/IPR-related crimes.

This trend underlines the rapid expansion of digital fraud and online scams.


Other Offences Driving the Growth

  • Obstruction on public way (Sec. 283 IPC): 151,469 cases in 2023 (↑62% from 2022).

  • Thefts: 689,580 cases (↑5.6%).

  • Rash driving: 526,500 cases (↑7.5%).

  • Criminal intimidation: 167,000 cases (↑10.8%).

  • Forgery, cheating, fraud: 182,000+ cases (↑6.2%).

Miscellaneous IPC crimes, which include rash driving and cruelty by husbands or relatives, saw a 9.6% increase.


Case Disposal and Conviction Rates

  • Charge sheeting rate (IPC): ↑72.7% (from 71.3% in 2022).

  • Pending IPC cases under investigation: ↑29.2% (from 28% in 2022).

  • Charge sheeting rate (SLL): 91.9%.

  • Conviction rate: IPC crimes → 54%; SLL crimes → 78%.

The disposal rate shows little improvement, pointing to a persistent backlog in India’s judicial process.


Historical Context and New Laws

  • Crime trends since 2020 show continuous growth after the pandemic.

    • 2020: Artificial spike due to Covid-19 violations.

    • 2021: ↑9.5%.

    • 2022: ↑7.2%.

    • 2023: ↑8%.

  • Last NCRB report under IPC: From July 2024, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced IPC, and future crime reports will be mapped under the new legal framework.


Conclusion

The NCRB 2023 report signals a shift in India’s crime profile. While heinous crimes like murder and rape are on the decline, cybercrime, fraud, abductions, and crimes against vulnerable groups are on the rise. The findings call for stronger cybersecurity measures, community safety policies, and efficient case disposal mechanisms.

India’s challenge ahead lies not just in controlling traditional crimes but also in tackling the emerging digital threat landscape.


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