Mumbai: Crime Cases Against Women, Children Rose By 21% In 2021, says Police

According to a data released by Mumbai Police on Tuesday, February 15, reported crimes in the city rose by 26 per cent in 2021 as compared to 2020.

Meanwhile, it has come to light that crimes against women and children recorded a rise of 21 per cent in 2021, over the previous year even as sexual assault on minors rose by 59 per cent.

At the annual crime conference, Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale said 64,656 crimes were registered in the city in 2021, compared to 51,068 cases in 2020, which was the first year of the pandemic.

Nagrale said that although the number of cases has increased compared to previous year, detection rate has improved. There is an 82 per cent detection of crime in 2021 compared to 69 per cent detection in 2020. In 2021, 53,193 cases were detected while in 2020, the number was 40,390 cases.

Across 94 police stations, an increase of 26.61 per cent was witnessed. In 2019, the city had recorded 41,951 cases, while the previous year 33,182 cases were lodged in the city. Between 2018 and 2021, therefore, the city reported an increase of 94.85 per cent in first information reports (FIRs).

This took place despite partial lockdown on account of the second wave of COVID-19 that began in February last year, he added.

As per accounts, a total of 3,879 crimes against women and 2,159 cases of crimes against children were registered last year, Meanwhile, 3,317 cases and 1,710 cases registered in 2020, respectively.

Detection rates improved over the two years as well, from 76 per cent in 2020 to 78 per cent in 2021.

Moreover, crime statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) last September also pointed to an uptick in the over crimes registered across Maharashtra in the last three years. The state recorded 394,017 cases in 2020, a rise of 47,726 from 2018 (346,291). However, Mumbai saw a marginal drop in registered crimes in 2020, ranking fifth among 19 metropolitan cities.

The city’s top cop referred to the Nirbhaya Pathaks (squads) were formed in the immediate aftermath after the gruesome rape and murder at Sakinaka on September 9, 2021.

The squads, which comprise two women and two men constables, headed by specially trained officers (of a police sub inspector or assistant police inspector level) at each station in the city, have dedicated vehicles to patrol the areas 24/7.

The police have asked the state government for dedicated desks at each police station so that crimes against women could be dealt with on priority, said officials.

Among other crimes recorded against women and girls, 63 cases of human trafficking were registered in 2020, and 68 cases in 2021. While 10 people were arrested and 147 women were rescued in 2020, 136 persons were arrested and 155 women rescued in 2021.

From 2020 to 2021, murders went up from 148 to 192, robberies from 614 to 749, extortions from 204 to 280, motor vehicle thefts from 2801 to 3282, rapes from 766 to 888 and molestations from 1943 to 2076. Property crimes rose 29 per cent. Other crime categories such as attempt to murder, dacoity, chain snatching, house-breaking theft.

Senior police officers said two categories – assault (30,843) and violation of lockdown rules under Section 188 (22,824) – recorded the highest number of cases in 2020 and 2021. Rapes and molestations together rose from 2709 in 2020 to 2964 in 2021, an increase of 9.41%.

There was a significant increase in narcotics seizures as well in 2021. From 1,127 kg of drugs seized in 2020, the amount rose to 4,185 kg in 2021.

Police officers said there four common methods of targeting people for cybercrime -- insurance fraud, customer care helpline fraud, KYC verification or vishing fraud, and romance scams. Among these, insurance fraud tops the list, with the most number of scams committed against senior citizens.