What are the Salient Characteristics of Crime in India?

Salient Characteristics of Crime in India

In India, in an hour about 193.2 cognisable crimes under the Indian Penal Code and 464.9 crimes under the Local and Special Laws are committed (1991 to 1998 figures, Crime in India, 1998:42).

Taking the average of 8 years from 1991 to 1998, in one day, the police grapples with 850 thefts, 264 riots, 397 robberies and burglaries, and 3,145 other criminal offences (Crime in India, 1998: 15-16).

Between 1978 and 1988, crime registered a rise of 15-16 per cent (from 13.44 to 14.40 lakh) while between 1988 and 1998, crime increased only by 20.0 per cent (from 14.40 lakh to 17.79 lakh) (ibid., 1998: 16).

The rising graph of crime might cause alarm among the public but our police and our politicians remain unruffled about the deteriorating law and order situation. The non-ruling political parties are concerned with these figures only in one way they use them to criticise the policies of the ruling party so that it could be defamed and removed from power, yielding place to a new governing elite.

Given the limitations of official criminal statistics, it is perhaps unwise to attempt to set forth vitally important facts about crime in the Indian society. It is conceivable that with adequate and valid methods, many of these ‘facts’ would change drastically. Nevertheless, there seems to be enough evidence to support at least the following brief description of crime in our country:

1. Taking the average of four years from 1995 to 1998 of the total 62.20 lakh crimes committed in India every year, about 17.26 lakh are cognizable crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (including theft, burglary, robbery, dacoity, murder, riot, kidnapping, cheating, breach of trust), and about 44.94 lakh are offences under the Special and Local Laws (SLL) (like Dowry Prohibition Act, Prohibition Act, Gambling Act, Excise Act, Arms Act, Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psy-Substances Act, Indian Railways Act, Explosive Substances Act, etc. (Crime in India, 1998:27).

Thus, the crime rate is not very high in our country. Whereas crime rate per one lakh population in India is 636.6, in Canada it is 12,735, in Britain it is 8,576, in Germany it is 8,030, in Denmark, it is 10,021 and in New Zealand it is 13,087 (Crime in India, 1997: 24).

2. Of about 74 lakh cases of crimes investigated by the police every year, about 31 per cent are cases of cognizable crimes under the IPC and about 69 per cent are offences committed under the SLL (ibid. 136-40).

3. The pattern of crime under the IPC indicates that of the total offences every year, 15 per cent are violent crimes (murder, rape, kidnapping, riots, etc.), 23 per cent are property crimes (theft, burglary), 3 per cent are white-collar crimes (cheating, breach of trust, counterfeiting) and 59 per cent are other (uncategorised) crimes (ibid., 1998:30).

4. Of the total (cognizable) crimes under the IPC, about one-fourth (24.7%) are related to theft (16.2%), burglary (1.7%), robbery (1.3%) and dacoit (0.5%). Further, crime rate is almost same (26.4%) for offences against persons (murder, abduction, hurt, rape, kidnapping, cheating, cruelty, molestation, sexual harassment).

The same is not true of the United States where about three-fourths (77%) crimes are property crimes (burglary, larceny, auto-theft, etc.) and only one-fourth (23%) are crimes against person (Backer, 1966: 211).

5. Of the total persons arrested for offences under the SLL, about one-fifth (19.7%) are arrested under five Acts: Prohibition Act 12.3 per cent; Gambling Act 2.6 per cent; Excise Act 2.5 per cent; Indian Railways Act 0.9 per cent; and Arms Act 1.4 per cent.

The remaining four-fourths (80.3%) are arrested under the Immoral Traffic Act, the Narcotic Drugs Act, the Explosives Act, the Dowry (Prohibition) Act, the Essential Commodities Act, TADA, and so on {Crime in India, 1998: 37-38).

6. Of the total IPC crimes, about half (54.8%) are committed in six states of Uttar Pradesh (10.4%), Maharashtra (10.1%), Madhya Pradesh (11.3%), Bihar (6.5%), and Rajasthan (9.4%) and Gujarat (7.1%). About one-fourth (26.9%) crimes are committed in four southern states of Tamil Nadu (8.4%), Karnataka (6.2%), Andhra Pradesh (6.9%) and Kerala (5.2%).

7. For about 17.8 lakh IPC crimes committed every year, about 26.6 lakh persons are arrested, that is, on an average 15 persons are arrested for every 10 crimes. On the other hand, for every 10 offences committed under the SLL, 10.2 persons are arrested (ibid: 16, 263, and 265)’.

8. More than four-fifths of the offenders (85%) commit crimes under the IPC for which they get less than six months imprisonment, that is, their crimes are misdemeanors.

9. Crime rate is much higher for males than females. Out of every 100 offenders, 95 are males and five are females (ibid., 1998: 271).

10. The percentage of urban offenders is much lower as compared to rural offenders.

11. Crime rate is the highest among those in the destitute class (income up to Rs. 500 p.m.), the lower class (income between Rs. 501 and Rs. 1,000 p.m.) and in the lower-middle class (income between Rs. 1,001 and Rs. 2,000 p.m.).

12. Crime rate (IPC and SLL together) is the highest (51.3%) in the age group of 18-30 years. The percentage in other age groups is 0.2 in age group below 16 years, 1.2 in 16-18 years age group, 41.3 in 31-50 years age group and 6.0 in 51 plus age group (ibid., 1998: 299-300).

13. A characteristic feature of the Indian criminal scene is an increase in organised crime the emergence of large-scale organisations for criminal activities. What is being systematically organised is the control and distribution of illicit goods and services drugs (narcotics), girls for prostitution (in India and in the Arabian countries), smuggling of gold, etc.

In addition, there are the organised efforts of the mafia groups to control various legitimate business activities, such as coal mines, unions in industries, and the like. Although the total number of major crimes charged to ‘organise crime’ is probably small, its cost and its pattern in cities provides a distinctive element.

In presenting these facts and features, the idea is to point out the weakening of motives for conformity to social norms and the disruption of social relationships and social bonds. The unrest is increasing almost in all sections of our society.

There is unrest among youth, peasants, industrial workers, students, government employees, and the minorities. Social unrest increases frustrations and strains which lead to violation of legal and social norms. It is true to say that organisation and the functioning of the existing subsystems and structures in our society are largely responsible for the increase in crime.

Various sets of ideas about crime causation have been developed by a number of scholars, stemming primarily from Durkheim, moving to scholars like Merton, Cohen, Miller, Cloward and Ohlin, and recently to Hermann Manheim, Radzinowicz, Jock Young, Ian Taylor and others.