With the crime rate per one lakh population dipping down below 110 and recording the lowest number of serious crimes like rape and murder, Kolkata is considered to be the safest among the metropolitan cities in the country, as per the latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
According to the latest report published by the NCRB, Delhi recorded the highest cognizable offences with a crime rate of 1,506.9 per one lakh population followed by Chennai that recorded a rate of 1,016.4. When the other two metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru recorded a rate of 272.4 and 234.9, Kolkata has a crime rate of 109.9 in cognizable offences. Not only among the metros but the city recorded the lowest crime rate among the 19 major cities of the country.
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In the overall crime rate, the city has fared much better than the other metros of the country. While in Chennai the overall crime rate -- 1,937.1 -- in Delhi is 1,608.6, the crime rate in Kolkata is only 129.5. The other two metros -- Mumbai and Bengaluru have recorded an overall crime rate of 318.6 and 401.9 respectively. The overall crime rate of the city is also the best among the 19 major cities that have been taken into account by the NCRB.
The report also stated that the number of crimes committed in Kolkata has gone down compared to figures of 2018 and 2019. In 2018, about 21,481 crimes were committed across the city whereas the figure stood at 19,638 in 2019 and 18,277 in 2020.
In the case of murders, Kolkata recorded only 53 cases whereas Delhi recorded 461 cases -- the highest among all the cities followed by Bengaluru (179 cases), Chennai (150 cases) and Mumbai (148 cases). Kozhikode with only 5 cases and Kochi with 9 cases are the two only two cities -- both in Kerala -- that recorded less than 10 cases in the year.
As far as crimes against women are concerned the city also performed better than other major cities of the country. Compared to the other metropolitan cities, the crime rate against women in Kolkata is also less and stands at 29.5. In terms of crimes against women, Lucknow is the most unsafe city for women with a rate of 190.7 per lakh population. The report of crime against women in Lucknow is 2,636 against only 13.8 lakh population. In 2020, only 2001 complaints were received regarding crimes against women in Kolkata against a population of 67.9 lakh. The rate of crimes against women in Delhi is 129.1 per cent. In 2020, across Delhi, 9,782 complaints were registered against 75.8 lakh population, stated the report.
The rate of deaths due to negligence in road accidents is also much lower in Kolkata compared to other cities. In 2020, the number of cases registered for death due to negligence in road accidents stood at 204. About 218 people died in such accidents. The parentage of fatal road accidents due to negligence is 1.4 per cent which is the lowest among all metropolitan cities. The report also reflects that in 2020 no hit-and-run cases happened in Kolkata.
Comparing the figures, Delhi is the highest in terms of the number of fatal accidents due to negligence with 1,130 cases with 1,156 victims. In terms of fatal road accidents due to negligence, Jaipur is the most unsafe city with 16.5 per cent of such cases. The highest number of hit-and-run cases among the metropolitan cities is recorded in Delhi with 514 cases where 519 people died.