CID data shows maximum crimes committed in Mumbai, but Nagpur more crime-prone
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Despite witnessing the maximum number of crimes in the state, Mumbai is not the most crime-prone city in Maharashtra, data by the state’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) has revealed.
Since decades, Mumbai’s portrayal as the breeding ground for criminal elements has led many to believe it is the most dangerous city in the state. However, crime rate data from state CID shows that Nagpur, and not Mumbai, has the highest crime rate.
As the financial capital of the country, Mumbai attracts thousands of settlers everyday.
The densely populated city, therefore, sees more crimes than any other city. However, it ranks second to Nagpur when it comes to number of crimes per one lakh citizens.
Similarly, Navi Mumbai has the lowest population and absolute number of crimes. However, Pune has the lowest crime rate.
The CID data, compiled by TOI, compares the crime rate of top metros in the state (Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur & Navi Mumbai) from 2011 to 2015. The smaller cities were not compared due to the sizable difference in their population vis-a-vis metros.
For Mumbai, the number of crimes increased from 40,361 to 42,940 in the period between 2014 and 2015, signifying an increase of around 6 percent.
While crimes like kidnapping, theft, breach of trust, rape, molestation, cheating, counterfeiting, causing death by negligence, extortion etc were on the rise, violent crimes like murder, robbery and dacoity were on the decline.
Sanjay Kumar, Maharashtra’s Additional Director General of Police (State CID, Pune), however argues that a reduction in number of crimes might not imply an actual decline. It can also be attributed to a decline in the number of complaints.
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