14 Urban Crimes in India
Dr. Upma Gautam
Introduction
The term ‘Law’ in effect refers to a sequence of cause and effects. It signifies a body of rules to guide human conduct in a given society, and the person who acts in a manner contrary to these norms commits a ‘wrong’. The term ‘wrong’ can be further classified into moral wrong and legal wrong. The difference between both lies in the very fact that moral wrongs are not punished by the State and are condemned by social disapproval. A moral wrong gains the stature of an ‘offence’ only when such act is prohibited by a legally prescribed code and when such act is so prohibited by the State it becomes an ‘offence’.
Further, the term offence is a wide concept which includes civil as well as criminal offences. Therefore, all the acts contrary to law, though categorized as legal offences are not necessarily crimes. So, now the question arises that which offences are crime? The answer of this question lies in the special features which are present in a criminal wrong. Such wrongs ,i.e., crime are offences against the state unlike the other category of offences termed as civil offences which are offence against a particular individual. Therefore, a criminal wrong being the wrong against the state is investigated, tried and punished by State agencies.
Note:
Sometimes an act may be both a civil offence as well as a crime. Such offences are popularly known as ‘Felonious Torts’. For example- nuisance, negligence, defamation, trespass, etc. In such cases, the wrongdoer can be prosecuted under criminal law as well as a civil suit can be filed against him.
Understanding Crime
Crime, the term, though cannot be defined precisely and exhaustively has been known through all the ages and civilizations. The various definitions of crime given by jurists reflect the penal policy adopted by the State for social control. The acts declared as criminal are not only acts forbidden by law, but also should be revolting to the moral sentiments of the society. Moral sentiment being the flexible term doesn’t allow the crime to be a static concept and therefore it changes with the change of the society. The concept of crime changes from time to time in the same country and within a country or from country to country at the same time because it is conditioned by moral values approved of by a particular society at a particular time in a particular country.
Sociologists perceive crime as a social phenomenon and understand criminal law in a sense of the instrument that protects the social interest. Thus, what acts are declared as a crime in a society depends upon the kind and number of social interests which are ought to be protected by such declaration. In the words of Roscoe Pound, these interests can be categorized as
- Interest in general- which includes interests in general safety, general health, peace and public order, security of transaction etc.
- Interest in security of social institution – which includes interests in domestic institution, religious institutions and political institutions.
- Interest in the general morals- which includes all social demand to be secured against acts or conduct offensive to oral sentiments of individuals at a given time.
- Interest in conservation of social resources – which includes the idea that goods of existence shall not be wasted which warrants that dependants, defectives and delinquents are to be trained, protected and reformed.
- Interest in general progress- which includes interests in economic, political and cultural progress.
- Interest in individual life.
Urbanization of Crime
Social changes affect the concept of crime in many ways which can be through development in science, technology, through changes in predominant moral and social philosophy, through changes in the structure of society, especially in its transition from a rural self contained and relatively sparsely populated to highly urbanized, industrialized pattern.
Criminal offences dealing with the protection of life and liberty have essentially remained unchanged, but offences against property have undergone more profound changes mainly as a result of transformation of a primitive agricultural society into a commercial or industrial one. The original crime of theft as understood in rural and less developed setup have transformed into embezzlement and fraudulent conversion, so as to protect the owners of commercial property against those entrusted with its handling. The growth of commercial and financial transaction has made the offence of fraud increasingly important in an urban setup which is a modern commercial society. The offence of theft, which predominantly penalizes the lower classes of society for interference with the property of others has transformed into white collar crime in an urbanized society. Even the concept of property has widened, which now not includes the tangible things, but also assets like electricity, shareholder claims, copyrights, patents, intellectual proprietary and the like.
Criminal Law in India
The criminal laws regulating penal liability can be broadly categorized into two categories: Substantive Criminal Law – This branch of law includes Indian Penal Code, 1860 and other Special Acts dealing with specific crimes such as the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Sati Prevention Act,1987, Arms Act,1959 etc.
Procedural Criminal Law – This branch of law includes Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and The Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Code of Criminal Procedure classifies the offences given into
(a) Cognizable Offence :
These offences as defined under Section 2(c) of Cr.P.C. are the offences in which the police officer can start the investigation without the permission of the Magistrate and has the power to arrest the person without warrant. The information regarding the commission of these offences is recorded by the police officer under section 154 of Cr.P.C. which is commonly known as FIR.
(b) Non-Cognizable Offence :
These offences are the offences which are defined in section 2(l) of Cr.P.C. . The police officer can’t start investigation regarding these offences without the permission of the magistrate. The information is recorded regarding these offences under section 155 of Cr.P.C. i.e. to say in these offences FIR is never recorded.. Further, the police officer is not having any power to arrest without warrant if the person has committed a non-cognizable offence (except one circumstance where the person refuses to give his name address to the police officer or if the police officer believes that the name address is not true, then the person can be arrested to ascertain the correct name and address.
Note:
Substantive Laws are the laws which provide rights and duties of the individual. The substantive criminal law provides essential ingredients of every crime and also provides the punishment for the same.
Procedural Laws lays down the procedure by which substantive law is to be regulated. The Code of Criminal Procedure distinctly classifies the offences given under the IPC into Cognizable/Non-cognizable; Bailable/Non-Bailable; Compoundable/Non-compoundable offences and also lays down the procedure for registration of criminal cases, police investigation, inquiry and conduct of criminal trials.
Metropolitan Cities of India
The term ‘Metropolitan City’ here refers to city having population of 10 lakh (1million) or more. The number of such cities has increased from 35 in the year 2001 to 53 in the year 2011. The population of these 53 mega cities constitutes nearly 13.3% of the country’s total population. The forthcoming analysis of urban crime pattern in the country does not refer to the total urban places in the country, but restricts to only 53 mega cities having an urban population of only 1607.24 lakh as per The Population Census 2011.
Different types of crimes are reported both in urban areas as well as in rural areas. It has to be borne in mind that no crime is categorized as occurring exclusively in urban areas. An acceptable definition of urban crime can be the different types of crimes which have been committed in urban areas. Urban areas are defined as :
a) All places with Municipality, Corporation, Cantonment Board or Notified town area committee.
b) All other places satisfying the following criteria:
a. A minimum population of 5000.
b. At least 75 percent of the adult male working population is engaged in non-agricultural pursuits.
c. A density of population of at least 400 persons per square kilometer.
But, it is important to note that while types of crime may be similar, it is those occurring in urban areas whose specification and ramifications are different from those reported from rural areas.
As per Section 8(1) of Cr.PC, the State Governments have the power to declare, by notification, any area in the state comprising a city or a town, whose population exceeds one million (10 Lakh), as a metropolitan area. Vide Section 20(5) of the Cr.PC, the State Governments can confer, under any law, for the time being in force, on a Commissioner of Police, all or any of the powers of an Executive Magistrate in relation to a Metropolitan Area.
Table 1-Trends of Metropolitanization in India, 1901-2011
| Census YearNumber | Population | Percent of Urban (millions) | Population |
| 1901 | 1 | 1.51 | 5.84 |
| 1911 | 2 | 2.76 | 10.65 |
| 1921 | 2 | 3.13 | 11.14 |
| 1931 | 2 | 3.41 | 10.18 |
| 1941 | 2 | 5.31 | 12.23 |
| 1951 | 5 | 11.75 | 18.81 |
| 1961 | 7 | 18.1 | 22.93 |
| 1971 | 9 | 27.83 | 25.51 |
| 1981 | 12 | 42.12 | 26.41 |
| 1991 | 23 | 70.66 | 32.54 |
| 2001 | 35 | 107.88 | 38.6 |
| 2011 | 53 | 160.06 | 42.6 |
Crimes in Urban Areas
National aggregate crime statistics may mask important differences among sub national geographic areas throughout the country. Statistics show that crime rates in metropolitan areas, as well as the criminal justice response, differ significantly from those in suburban areas, cities outside metropolitan areas, and non-metropolitan counties. The uneven distribution of crime has implications for responding to crime, supporting victims, and allocating criminal justice system resources.
Urbanisation is an increase in population and economic activities in the urban areas which leads to further development of towns and agglomerates to contain this rising population. It is a cause and effect of heightened economic progress in a region (Census of India, 2011). It plays an enormous role in social transformation and economic mobility all over the world. In fact, the process of urbanization has been transforming the developing countries from ‘countries of villages’ to ‘countries of cities and town’.
When we talk about the challenges of urbanization, we can’t ignore the changing lifestyle of people in urban areas and the role this ‘change’ has to play in their behavior. An individual’s position in the society puts several limitations on him and he resorts to crime in a bid to adapt to these limitations. Other than the option of resorting to crime, the person also needs to have opportunities to learn how he can commit crime. This works on the basis of Edwin Sutherland’s differential association theory, which states that a person learns the values, attitudes, and techniques required for criminal behavior on interacting with others. While things are not very different in rural areas, the intensity of certain factors differs there. This difference can be attributed to the difference in urban and rural living. In rural areas, cultural factors have a much more dominant role to play as compared to other factors.
The connection between crime and city size is hardly a new fact. Criminologists have discussed the urban tendency towards crime for decades. Wirth (1938) discussed the observed connection between crime and urbanization and argued that this connection is evidence for his theory of “urbanism as a way of life.” In fact, further back in time, social observers have for centuries assailed cities for their supposed concentration of immoral activities. Jefferson wrote that “I view cities as pestilential to the morals, the health, the liberties of man,” and Rousseau claimed that “cities are the abyss of the human species.”
There are various theories that explain the connection between cities and crime. The earliest ideas on this topic were written by Emile Durkheim, George Simmel and Max Weber. Wirth claimed that urban crime rates reflect the more anonymous and unstable nature of urban life. Wilson and Hernstein (1984) also focus on high numbers of temporary urban residents who fear neither recognition nor community reprisals. Milgram (1970) claimed that cities create an informational overload that leads bystanders to avoid involvement in crime against their neighbours. Jacobs (1961) argued that cities abet crime when urban neighbourhoods lose (as they often do) their traditional social structures.
Owing to a higher population density and close proximity of residences, the urban areas are generally recognized as breeding grounds for the criminals and prone to higher incidence of crimes compared to rural areas. The unchecked and unplanned growth of cities as well as a large floating population is major contributing factors for urban crimes. Criminal propensity is also known to be higher in urban industrial areas. Migration of poor, illiterate people having roots in a simple environment consequent to migration suffer emotional instability in the urban setting. They are easily lured into theft, robbery, smuggling and other illegal activities.
Urban Crime Pattern Analysis
The present analysis of metropolitan cities is restricted to 22 major specified crimes under IPC and 21 specified crimes under SLL. At the All India level, over a period of three years from 2012-2014, the cognizable crimes under IPC rose from 2387188 to 2851563, an increase of about 464375. There is a net addition of more than 1.5 lakh cognizable crime under IPC over a period of three years.
Table 2: India: Incidence and Rate of Cognizable Crime, 2012-2014.
| Incidence | Rate | |||
| IPC | SLL | IPC | SLL | |
| 2012 | 23,87,188 | 36,54,371 | 196.7 | 301.2 |
| 2013 | 26,47,722 | 39,92,656 | 215.5 | 324.9 |
| 2014 | 28,51,563 | 43,77,630 | 229.2 | 351.9 |
Over the same time period, the crime committed under Special Laws increased from 3654371 to 4377630, an increase of 7,23,259. There is a net addition of more than 2.5 lakh crimes under SLL over a period of three years.
Fig.2: Crime rate: India and metropolitan cities,2014
A total of 1,843,862 cognizable crimes consisting of 6,16,639 cases under the IPC and 12,27,223 under the S & LL was reported in 53 metropolitan cities during 2014.The proportion of these crimes to the total crimes at the National level was 25.50 percent against the population share of about 18 percent. The crime rate in Metropolitan cities for cognizable crimes under IPC in the year 2014 was 383.7 per lakh of population as against the National average of 229.2 . The crime rate in metropolitan cities for cognizable crimes under S& LL in the year 2014 was 763.6 as against the National average of 351.9. The total Cognizable Crime committed under IPC in the year 2014 in 53 metropolitan areas was 616639. Out of these, Delhi takes the largest share by contributing 139707 cases. The other cities with large numbers of cognizable crime committed under IPC are Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Jaipur. But, Delhi leads the pack by a large margin.
Fig.3: India: Incidence ofCognizable Crimes
Delhi is the national capital of the country, but it is not for nothing that Delhi is always referred to as ‘crime capital’ of the country too. Delhi contributes about 23 percent of the total cognizable crimes committed under IPC in metropolitan areas of India. The second ranking metropolitan city in contributing to the total number of cognizable crimes under IPC is Mumbai. It only contributes about 6 percent to the total number of cognizable crimes committed under IPC by metropolitan cities.
The ‘crime rate’ defined as the ‘number of crimes’ reported per 1,00,000 population is universally taken as a realistic indicator since it balances the effect of growth in population and size of the State. The average rate of crime in metropolitan centres for cognizable crime under IPC was 229.2 per lakh of population and for cognizable crimes under SLL for the same year was 351.9 per lakh of population. In the year 2013, Coimbatore reported the highest crime rate of 834.3 among the mega cities in the country followed by Indore (809.9), Jaipur (780.6), Gwalior (715.6) and Nasik (702.8). In the year 2014, Indore was the city with the highest crime rate of 885.9 closely followed by Delhi (856.3), Gwalior (850.2), Jaipur (848.4). Amongst the top ten cities with the highest crime rate of cognizable crimes under IPC, four are from Madhya Pradesh.
Table 3: Crime Rate
IPC Crime in Urban Areas: Violent Crime
Violent crimes affect the life and safety of the people. Such crimes induce a sense of insecurity and fear in the community. The frequency and the magnitude of such crimes also affect the public peace. The following IPC crimes reported to the Police authorities have been grouped as ‘Violent Crimes’ for the purpose of crime analysis in this chapter.
I. Violent crimes affecting life
Murder, attempt to commit murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, dowry deaths and kidnapping & abduction;
II. Violent crimes affecting property
Dacoity, preparation & assembly to commit dacoity and robbery;
III. Violent crimes affecting public safety
Riots and arson;
IV. Violent crimes affecting women
Rape.
A total of 25579 violent crimes affecting life were committed in the metropolitan cities of the country. The All India figure for the same crime was 160699. About 16 percent of the total violent crimes affecting life in the country were committed in the metropolitan cities. Delhi again leads other metropolitan cities in the incidence of murder. A total of 472 murders were reported in Delhi in the year 2014. About 13.34 percent of the total murders committed in the metropolitan cities was committed in Delhi. Delhi is followed by Bengaluru (242) and Patna (205).
Fig.5: Incidence of Kidnapping and Abduction
A total of 15787 cases of kidnapping and abduction were registered in metropolitan cities of India. Delhi again takes a large chunk of the total cases registered. 6061 such cases were registered in Delhi. Delhi alone accounts for 38.39 percent of the total registered cases of kidnapping and abduction in metropolitan cities. It is followed by Bengaluru (708), Jaipur (653), Patna (599) such cases.
Number of dowry deaths reported from metropolitan cities in the year 2014 was 749. Delhi dubiously again ranks first with 127 such registered deaths. Bengaluru is a distant second with almost half the number of registered dowry deaths. It is followed by Patna, Agra, Jaipur and Lucknow.
A total of 15666 violent crimes affecting property were committed in the metropolitan cities of the country. The All India figure for the same crime was 45300. About 35 percent of the total violent crimes affecting property in the country in the year 2014 were committed in the metropolitan cities. The crimes committed under this head are significantly more in metropolitan cities because of the high density of population, close proximity of buildings and escape avenues available.
Table 4: Violent crime Activity
Violent Crime Affecting Property
Source: NCRB, 2004.
A close look at the table reveals that about 12 percent of dacoity, 24 percent of preparation and assembly to commit dacoity and 38 percent of Robberies in the country are committed in the metropolitan cities alone. A city wise analysis depicts the fact that as in most violent crime under IPC, for robbery too, Delhi stands alone first contributing a huge 41 percent of the total registered cases in the metropolitan cities. 15 percent of the entire countries’ cases of robbery are committed in Delhi alone. Delhi is followed by Mumbai, which contributes less than half (2094) of that of Delhi figure. it is followed by Bengaluru, Pune and Nagpur.
A total of 6050 violent crimes affecting public safety were committed in the metropolitan cities of the country. The All India figure for the same crime was 75331. About 8 percent of the total violent crimes affecting public safety in the country were committed in the metropolitan cities. Patna ranks highest in reporting riots. It is followed by Mumbai and Bengaluru. In cases of arson, Delhi tops the charts again.
Safety and security of women is an integral aspect of analysis of crime scenario in urban areas. A total of 5761 violent crimes affecting women, i.e. rape were committed in the metropolitan cities of the country. The All India figure for the same crime was 36538. About 16 percent of the total violent crimes affecting women in the country were committed in the metropolitan cities.
Delhi is often described as ‘the Rape Capital of the country’. Among 53 Cities, Delhi city has reported the highest incidents of sexual crimes accounting for 29.4% (1,441 out of 5,406 cases), 25.8% (3,069 out of 11,913 cases) and 23.9% (807 out of 3,375 cases) of total cases reported under crime heads ‘Rape’, ‘Assault on woman with intent to outrage her modesty’ and ‘Insult to the modesty of women’ respectively during 2013. In the year 2014, Delhi contributed 31.47% (1813 out of 5761cases), 26.67% (5709 out of 21399 cases) and 25.4% (966 out of 3804 cases) of total cases reported under crime heads ‘Rape’, ‘Assault on woman with intent to outrage her modesty’ and ‘Insult to the modesty of women’ respectively.
Crimes under special and local laws
53 cities have reported 12,27,223 cases registered as crimes under special & local laws during the year 2014as compared to 12,03,514 cases in the year 2013. The incidence of crime under SLL during the year 2014 shows an increase of 1.96% in mega cities as compared to increase of 1.52% observed at the national level. Chennai contributed the highest proportion of cognizable crime (almost 12 percent) under SLL category. It was followed by Agra in the year 2014.
Table 5: Cognizable Crime Under SLL Category
| Year | Incidence | Rate |
| 2009 | 8,91,576 | 826.5 |
| 2010 | 11,19,621 | 1037.8 |
| 2011 | 11,49,059 | 713.2 |
| 2012 | 11,03,858 | 685.2 |
| 2013 | 12,03,514 | 748.8 |
| 2014 | 12,27,223 | 763.6 |
Source: NCRB, 2014
Among 53 mega cities, 72% of cases under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act were reported in Mumbai. 37.37 % of cases under Prohibition Act were reported in Surat , 28.84 % of cases under Explosive and Explosive Substances were reported in Allahabad. 11.77% of cases under Arms Act were reported from Ghaziabad.
Crime rate (SLL)
For the cognizable crime under SLL category, the crime rate in mega cities (763.6) was more than twice of the National average (351.9). The highest crime rate of SLL crimes during the year 2014 was reported from Raipur (11457.7) followed by Agra (7953.2).
Conclusions
Crime is primarily the outcome of multiple adverse social, economic, cultural and family conditions. To prevent crime, it is important to have an understanding of its roots. Social root causes of crime are: inequality, not sharing power, lack of support to families and neighborhoods, real or perceived inaccessibility to services, lack of leadership in communities, low value placed on children and individual well-being, the overexposure to television as a means of recreation. One of the significant causes is unemployment. Because people do not have a stable job which helps them to pay everything in their lives, such as foods, clothes, so they cannot improve their lives. As a result, although something is unlawful, they must do to have money.
Crime can be closely linked to the conditions for children in our community. There is a strong link between reducing risk and building resilience in children and decreasing crime. Problems arise when the larger social, political and economic systems within which children live jeopardize the family’s resources and create stress on the family unit. As a result, the provision of appropriate care and required resources to all children will have great significance for their long term physical, intellectual, and emotional well-being and their development into independent, healthy adults.
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References
- The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Bare Act, 2014, Universal Law Publishing Co. Ltd, New Delhi.
- Evans and Herbert (1989), The Geography of Crime, First Edition, Routledge.
- K.N. Chandrasekharan Pillai, R.V. Kelakar’s Lectures on Criminal Procedure, Eastern Book Company, 2013.
- Harries, K., 1976, Cities and Crime: A Geographical Model, Criminology: 369-386.
- Schichor, D., Decker, D. and R.O’Brien, 1979, Population Density and Criminal Victimization, Criminology: 180-200.
- Wirth, L. ,1938, Urbanism as a Way of Life, American Journal of Sociology, XLVI:1-24.
- Crime in India, 2012, www.ncrb.gov.in
- Crime in India, 2013, www.ncrb.gov.in
- Crime in India, 2014, www.ncrb.gov.in