Coimbatore Stands At 22nd Position In Crime Rate
Bucking the general trend of mega-cities recording a higher crime rate than the States they are located in, Chennai had a crime rate slightly lower than that of Tamil Nadu last year. According to the statistics for 2007 released by the National Crime Records Bureau, TN had a total cognizable crime rate of 261.7 per one lakh population, while that of Chennai was 256.9. The crime rate, defined as the number of crimes under the Indian Penal Code per one lakh population, is taken as a realistic indicator of crime trends as it balances incidence with growth in population.However, some officials discount the relevance of these statistics as they are based on the number of cases registered under the IPC and may include thousands of minor offences. They may also not reflect the real trends with regard to violent crimes like murder, attempts to murder and rape, and offences involving property. The crime rate for TN ranks it sixth on a national table of cognizable crime, but Chennai's rate ensures that the metro is ranked a creditable 24th among 35 major cities in the country.
Coimbatore stands at the 22nd position and Madurai at the 30th. Kolkata is the least crime-hit city among the top 35, with a very low rate of 82.5 per one lakh population. Normally, capitals account for higher incidence of crime than the rest of the states because urban agglomerations with a high population are more crime-prone. For instance, Karnataka's crime rate is 211.7, but that of Bangalore is far higher at 475.6. Even Hyderabad's crime rate of 314.3 is much higher than Andhra Pradesh's 214.6. Amidst a moderate increase of 16% in crime incidence in TN in 2007 over the previous year, Chennai remained stable in terms of the number of cognizable crimes, accounting for 16,508 out of the State's 1,72,754 crimes. In 2006, the city saw 16,168 crimes, while 1, 48,972 crimes were recorded in the state.
This means that while crimes grew by 16% in TN, they moved up only by 2.1% in Chennai. "This is a clear indication of better policing in Chennai and its suburbs," said suburban police commissioner SR Jangid. More time and energy were being invested in crime prevention efforts, and there was no organised crime in the city, he noted. Until recently, Chennai and its suburbs had a single police commissionerate, and the suburban unit was created only a few months ago. The 2007 statistics cover the city as well as its suburbs.
Several history-sheeters have been brought to book or even eliminated in recent years. Another reason for the city not showing any significant increase in cognizable crimes is that there has been a 25% reduction in the registration of cases, enquiries revealed. Incidents of theft and burglary, police sources said, were not always registered. As in Chennai, three other cities Dhanbad, Kolkata and Madurai also have a crime rate lower than the States they are located in. In Mumbai, the rate of 186.2 is just marginally higher than Maharashtra's figure of 184.7.
