Overall crime rate in India drops 6%, Cybercrime surges past 1 lakh cases: SBI report

The overall crime rate in India has dropped by 6% in 2024, with 58.86 lakh cognizable crimes recorded, down from 62.86 lakh cases the previous year. However, cybercrime has surged past 1 lakh cases, according to a report by the State Bank of India (SBI). The SBI report noted that crime against women has declined by 1.5% from 4.48 lakh cases in 2023 to 4.41 lakh cases in 2024. The expansion of digital systems has increased the likelihood of detecting criminal activity through tools such as UPI transactions, FASTag records, and digital surveillance. This has raised the risks associated with committing offences. Data also indicates that locations with a higher density of CCTV cameras have recorded a modest decline in crime between 2022 and 2024, showing a correlation of -0.148. The Smart Cities Mission has led to the installation of over 84,000 CCTV surveillance cameras across 100 designated smart cities, along with 1,884 emergency call boxes and 3,000 public address systems. These measures have increased the perceived probability of detection. The SBI report also noted that there is an interesting relationship between crime and economic growth. It added that areas with greater CCTV coverage experienced a slight reduction in crime during the same period. Furthermore, a 1% fall in the IPC/BNS crime rate per lakh population is connected with around 0.11% higher real GDP growth in the short run. Hence, as crime falls, society gains a growth dividend. The report also highlighted that crime against women acts as a labour market friction and could lead to lower participation by females. However, the reduction remains marginal compared to the scale of the problem. According to NCRB 2024 data, 1,20,227 cases involving cruelty by husbands or relatives were registered, affecting 1,21,166 victims. The SBI Research also noted that the estimated annual number of affected women rises to nearly 6.69 crore, with an estimated 27.88 crore ever-married women in the relevant age group and 24% reporting physical and/or sexual spousal violence in the previous year.