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Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
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I SSN: 2395-0463
Vol ume 03 I s s ue 08
JULY 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 445
CRIME RATE AND CRIME CONTROL PRACTICES IN INDIA
Keshari Nandan Mishra
Associate Professor, Department of History, H. N. B. Government P.G. College, Allahabad,
Uttar Pradesh, India
Abstract
Crime exists in India in various forms such as murder, extortion; drug trafficking, money
laundering, fraud, human trafficking, poaching and prostitution etc. These crimes have
different statistical trends and it changes with change in time. This paper provides a complete
picture of crime and crime control in India. Location has a significant impact on crime in
India. In 2012, Kerala reported the highest cognisable crime rate of 455.8 among States of
India, while Nagaland recorded lowest rates (47.7). The rates were calculated by National
Crime Records Bureau as the number of incidents per 100,000 of the population.
The gravity of crime in India is also examined from comparative perspective by engaging in a
cross national comparison with other countries. The finding of this research indicates that the
crime problem in India is more serious than other developed countries. This paper further
determines the factors responsible for increase in crime rate and reached on the conclusion
that political, economic and socio-cultural factors have played and will continue to play a
vital role in crime and crime control practices in India.
Keywords: Crime, Human trafficking, Fraud, Poaching, Prostitution, Money laundering
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Introduction
Crime exists in India in various forms such as murder, extortion, drug trafficking, money
laundering, fraud, human trafficking, poaching and prostitution etc. Although every society
experiences various degrees of social change and consequent increases in crime and crime
rates, rates of change differ from one society to another. Accordingly, this paper will attempt
an overview of the trends and characteristics of crime and crime control in India and in doing
so will provide a general understanding of crime in Indian society. This article will conclude
with a discussion of the case of India as it experiences rapid change. We will also look at how
these changes influence crime and crime control practices. The Analytical Report on Crime is
the most comprehensive compilation of statistical data on crime, police activity, and the
Crime Rates in India. According to the Criminal Code, offenses are classified into seven sub- categories: violent crimes, property crimes, forgeries, and crimes by government officials,
crimes against public morals, crimes of negligence, and others. Crime can influence
economic activities in two possible ways: affecting the level of output, for example, loss due
to lost working days/lives or property damages; or by affecting the growth rate of per capita
income which can happen due to foregone investments and institutional changes that
influence productivity growth.
Literature Review
Ehrlich (1973) models the participation of individuals in non-market, legal and illegal
activities, and predicts an unspecified effect of crime on economic development.
Chatterjee and Ray (2009) based on a large cross-country sample for the period 1991-2005
and controlling for human capital and institutional quality, find no strong evidence of a
uniformly negative association between crime and growth. Burnham et al. (2004) using US
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JULY 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 447
county level data are not able to establish a clear connection between central city crime and
per capita income growth.
Barber (2000) analysed the effect of sex ratio on violent crimes (murders, assaults and rapes)
for cross-national data of 70 countries in the year 1990 and found a negative relationship
between the two, supporting Guttentag and Secord’s (1983) theory.
Dreze and Khera (2000) take Oldenburg’s argument further by scrutinizing the link between
crime rates and various indicators of modernization as well as the social composition of the
population. They establish a positive relationship between overall sex ratio and murder rates
(annual murders per million persons) for 319 Indian districts in 1981.
Fajnzylber, Lederman and Loayza (2002) show that “crime rates (homicide and robbery) and
inequality are positively correlated within countries and this correlation reflects causation
from inequality to crime rates, even after controlling for other crime determinant”. Social
disorganization theory (Shaw and McKay, 1942) highlights that a breakdown of social
control machinery can lead to higher crime rates.
Entorf and Spengler (2000) in their study on criminality, social cohesion and economic
performance. According to them, wealth varies positively with crime for property related
crimes.
Factors Responsible For Increase in Crime Rates
It is interesting to note that increases in crime rates, show different patterns over the past four
decades: a notable increase in the crime against human body; a decrease in crime against
property. Along with the notable increase and decrease in crime, we need to understand it in a
social context. Indian society experienced rapid structural changes brought on by
industrialization and modernization after Independence. Social changes always tend to
produce social disorganization, some of which is crime.[xxxvi] In India, the rapid growth in
the urban population; the increase in the stress and strains of urban life; the higher standard of
living; and, the changes in the existing value systems and political system, were some of the
factors contributing to the increase in the crime rate.
