Unsafe Capital: Steep rise in crime in streets of Delhi

Delhi seems to be far away from shedding its tag of India’s crime capital. The recent data released by Delhi police, clearly reflects the failure of authorities in keeping this city safe. From street crime to robberies, rapes and molestation, there is an increase in number of cases. A trend analysis shows 186% of increase in 2014 over 2013 in the street crime, which means 12 cases were reported every hour in 2014 against the figure of 4 in 2013. The city which has already earned a bad name when it comes to safety of women, has again witnessed an increase in crime against women, that involves rapes and molestation. As per data, a rape was reported every 4 hours and a molestation every 2 hours. The number of rape cases grew to 2069, up by 32% as compared to 2013.

More shockingly, only 29.5% of cases were solved in 2014, coming down from the figure of 49% in 2013. This fact can be attributed to the present police strength that allows an allocation of only 1 cop per 200 people. As per police commissioner of Delhi, Mr. BS Bassi, the steep rise in number of cases is also due to the truthful registration of all complaints and FIRs instead of turning away of people to keep the
graph down. Looking forward to providing a safer environment to the residents, some new initiatives are in the pipeline. This includes, installation of 9000 CCTV cameras at various locations, launch of motor vehicle theft app, new training schemes for police officers to increase the sensitization towards complaints and filling up of 400 new posts in 2015.

But the question is, are these initiatives sufficient to control the crime rate or is it the strict vigilance that is required? An increase in number of cases clearly reflects the lack of fear in criminals and that is what needs to be targeted. Launch of theft apps and trainings can only facilitate in doing so, but most important is to set right examples that convey a strong message to criminals. It’s time to practice “zero tolerance” towards crime to make Delhi a safer place for its residents.

-Neha Rathi, Columnist

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