National Crime Records Bureau has released the ‘Crime in India 2024’ and ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2024’ reports

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released the Crime in India 2024 and Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (ADSI) 2024 reports, highlighting an overall decline in crime rates but a sharp rise in cybercrimes, suicides linked to socio-economic distress, and drug overdose deaths.

About the Report

¨     The Crime in India report is an annual publication of the National Crime Records Bureau under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

¨     It compiles nationwide data on cognisable crimes registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Special & Local Laws (SLLs).

¨     The report provides detailed statistics on crimes against women, children, SCs/STs, cybercrimes, economic offences, juveniles, senior citizens, human trafficking, and offences against the state.

¨     Alongside it, the Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (ADSI) 2024 report presents data on suicides, accidental deaths, drug overdose deaths, and socio-economic patterns linked to mortality.

Key Findings of the Report

¨     Overall Crime Trends: A total of 58.85 lakh cognisable crimes were registered in 2024, marking a 6% decline from 62.41 lakh cases in 2023.The national crime rate declined from 448.3 to 418.9 cases per lakh population.IPC/BNS crimes constituted 60.2% of total crimes, while Special & Local Laws (SLL) cases accounted for 39.8%.

¨     Cyber Crimes: Cybercrime cases increased by 17.9%, rising from 86,420 cases in 2023 to 1,01,928 cases in 2024.Fraud was the dominant motive behind cybercrimes, accounting for 72.6% of total cases.Sexual exploitation and extortion were the next major categories.

¨     Crime Against Women: Crimes against women declined marginally by 1.5%, with 4.41 lakh cases recorded in 2024.“Cruelty by husband or relatives” remained the largest category, followed by kidnapping and assault with intent to outrage modesty.

¨     Telangana recorded the highest crime rate against women, while Delhi reported the highest number of such cases among metropolitan cities.Chandigarh recorded the highest rape crime rate in the country.

¨     Crimes Against Children: Crimes against children increased by 5.9%, reaching 1,87,702 cases.Kidnapping and abduction of children and offences under the POCSO Act formed the largest share.Missing children cases rose by 7.8%, with 98,375 children reported missing in 2024.

¨     SC/ST Atrocities: Crimes against Scheduled Castes declined by 3.6% to 55,698 cases.Crimes against Scheduled Tribes showed a sharper decline of 23.1%, with 9,966 cases recorded.Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of crimes against SCs, while Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number of crimes against STs.

¨     Economic and Other Offences: Economic offences increased by 4.6%, reaching 2,14,379 cases, largely driven by cheating, forgery, and fraud.Offences against the state rose by 6.6%, with most cases registered under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and the UAPA.Human trafficking cases declined marginally by 2.2%, though over 6,000 victims were reported trafficked.

¨     Juveniles and Senior Citizens: Cases involving juveniles in conflict with law increased by 11.2%, with most juveniles belonging to the 16–18 years age group.Crimes against senior citizens rose sharply by 16.9%, with theft and cheating/fraud being the leading offences.

Suicide and Drug Overdose Deaths (ADSI Report)

¨     India recorded 1,70,746 suicidesin 2024.

¨     Daily wage workers accounted for nearly 31% of suicides.

¨     The farming sector recorded 10,546 suicides, including farmers/cultivators and agricultural labourers.

¨     Student suicides stood at 14,488, while 22,113 housewives died by suicide.

¨     Deaths due to drug overdose increased by nearly 50%, rising from 650 in 2023 to 978 deaths in 2024.

¨     Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of drug overdose deaths.