India witnessed a decrease in cognisable crimes in 2024, totaling 58.86 lakh cases, marking a 6% drop from the previous year. The country’s all-India crime rate also decreased from 448.3 to 418.9 per lakh population, as reported by SBI Research. Crimes against women decreased by 1.5%, from 4.48 lakh cases in 2023 to 4.41 lakh in 2024. However, cybercrime surged by 17%, surpassing 1 lakh cases compared to 86,420 in 2023. The report attributed the decline in conventional crime to increased public investment, enhanced surveillance, and greater digitization efforts.
Cities with higher CCTV density tend to experience lower crime growth rates, according to the research. The adoption of digital tools like UPI, FASTag, and digital surveillance has contributed to an increased probability of crime detection, thereby raising the expected cost of committing crimes. More than 84,000 CCTV surveillance cameras have been installed in the 100 Smart Cities, along with 1,884 emergency call boxes and 3,000 public address systems.
The research revealed that a 1% increase in per-capita public capital outlay is linked to a 0.36% reduction in the crime rate. It was estimated that a 1% decrease in crime is associated with a 0.11% higher real GDP growth in the short term, with a long-term effect increasing to 0.13%. States with higher instances of crimes against women tend to have lower female labor force participation rates, indicating that safety concerns impact mobility, employment decisions, and economic opportunities.
States such as Haryana, Kerala, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh report rates of crimes against women above the national average, while female labor force participation remains relatively low or moderate. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded only 1.21 lakh victims under cruelty by husband or relatives in 2024. However, estimates based on the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) suggest that around 5.94 lakh cases should have been reported to the police. The report highlighted that only about 20.4% of potential police-contact cases are reflected in NCRB statistics, indicating that approximately 4.73 lakh cases may have gone unreported due to possible lack of FIR filings.
