For semi-urban and rural India, cities have gradually come to signify prosperity, better quality of life, and higher income underlined by a modern lifestyle and facilities. Of all the parameters that are perceived to qualify a successful life in the present context, living in a city is perhaps one of the most significant and sought after. In their quest for the seemingly ideal life, people are increasingly migrating to cities causing an imbalance in the supply and demand scenario of basic resources due to overpopulation. According to United Nations (1999), long term projections estimate that the world’s population would probably stabilise at 9.3 and 10 billion between 2150 and 2200. This increase will occur mostly in urban areas, which will grow from 2.5 billion to more than 6 billion, with nearly all of this increase occurring in the developing world. In the shorter term, it is estimated that by 2020 the world’s population will reach a 57 per cent urbanisation level.[1]
The imbalance of available resources is marked by the dearth of space, shelter, food and basic amenities for the rising population leading to competition, rivalry and in turn insecurity. The most appalling and stark manifestation of this insecurity is the rise in crime in cities. The biggest irony of the present times is that, cities that attract economic power and foster growth are now the hub of crime and violence which drastically debilitate development. The rising crime in Indian cities may be attributed to widening inequality, poverty, improper urban planning, ever-increasing burden on urban infrastructure, proliferation of slums and poor neighbourhoods, and the not-so-perfect judiciary and legal system of the country.
Available statistics on crimes in India depict an extremely disturbing picture of the law and order situation of the country. As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, during 2010, a total of 67,50,748 cognizable crimes comprising 22,24,831 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 45,25,917 Special & Local Laws (SLL) crimes were reported, showing an increase of 1.11% over 2009 (66,75,217). The (IPC) crime rate has increased by 3.9% over 2009[2]. Crime trends under major heads from 1953-2011 reveal that crimes such as Dacoity and Burglary/House breaking have been on the decline over a period of 59 years however, crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping & abduction, robbery and riots have been on the rise. While, Burglary/ House breaking has declined by 37.2% (from 1,47,379 in 1953 to 92,504 in 2011) and Dacoity has declined by 23.2% (from 5,579 in 1953 to 4,285 in 2011), Murder has increased by 250.0% (from 9,802 in 1953 to 34,305 in 2011); Rape by 873.3% (from 2,487 in 1971 to 24,206 in 2011); Kidnapping & Abduction by 749.0% (from 5,261 in 1953 to 44,664 in 2011); Robbery by 193.8% (from 8,407 in 1953 to 24,700 in 2011) and Riots by 233.7% (from 20,529 in 1953 to 68,500 in 2011)[3]. It is evident that heinous and violent crimes are on the rise which is surely a cause for concern.
The police force in India is constrained by the lack of adequate manpower, equipment, technology & technical know-how and to some extent political will. According to NCRB, in 2011 the actual strength of police force was 12, 81,317 against the sanctioned strength of 16, 60,953. In terms of percentage of IPC cases, disposed by courts was mere 13.5% as opposed to the remaining 84.5% cases which were pending. Similarly, disposal of SLL cases by courts was 41.3% while remaining 57.9% cases were pending during the year 2011[4].
Urban safety and security is vital for the inflow of investment and overall development and it is time the challenge of securing our cities is taken up in the right earnest. Some of the measures that would be crucial to achieve this are better policing, inclusive urban planning to counter the risk of propagating crimes, technological advancement in security, and socio-economic up gradation and development of overcrowded slum areas that are prone to criminal acts and violence. The need of the hour is also for every citizen of the country to be aware of their role in ensuring the safety and security of society at large.
The Conference on Homeland Security 2012: Safe and Secure City being organised by FICCI on August 7-8, 2012 at Federation House, New Delhi will attempt to find answers to several questions concerning the safety of Indian cities. It would provide an opportunity to learn from initiatives across several states of India and deliberate on how to make our cities secure.
The writing on the wall is clear – It is not enough just to realise the gravity of the situation, take a backseat and hope that we as individuals never become the target of crime or violence. On the contrary, each one of us needs to rise to the challenge and strive for a society free of crime and fear.
