Hot & Viral: Crime rates in the Capital City are falling- NCRB

NCRB, in its annual report, said there was an overall dip of 11.72 per cent in "heinous crimes" from the previous year

New Delhi: Marking a reduction in crimes in a city that has built a reputation over the years as India's "rape capital, New Delhi recorded a drop in "heinous crimes" while the arrests were up for the last year. With the capital continuing to confront its culture of violence against women, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in its annual report, said there was an overall dip of 11.72 per cent in heinous criminal activity from the previous year.

While crimes such as the attempt to murder, rapes, dacoity, theft and rioting were on the decline, there was a 3.25 per cent increase in the number of murders. Commissioner Amulya Patnaik cited societal inequalities as a reason for the high number of crimes.

"When youth living in underprivileged clusters located next to the affluent neighbourhoods see the rich people leading a comfortable life, they have ambitions of getting rich quickly. So, they are taking to street crimes like snatching and robberies," said Patnaik.

"There is a relentless churning of youth's ambitions, often giving rise to frustrations. The socio-economic disparities between the rich and the poor are giving rise to criminals," he said, adding that the "social structures" were "loosening" and families were losing control over youngsters.

Despite an 11.32 per cent drop in use of guns in robberies, Patnaik believes the decline is no consolation. "The porous borders and influx of criminals from neighbouring states is a problem," he said.

According to NCRB records in 2016, New Delhi accounted for close to 40 per cent of rapes. It regularly topped the list for abductions, murder cases, juveniles in conflict and economic offences for the year.