As per official data released on Friday, the national capital witnessed a whopping 200 per cent increase in crime in the last two years and Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi attributed the spurt to police registering all the complaints unlike in previous years.
The data also brought forth some staggering revelations regarding murders in the city.
According to the data, 1.47 lakh cases were registered till December 15, which was almost 99.22 per cent higher than the same period in 2013 and almost a 200 per cent jump from 54,287 cases in 2012.
When it comes to crimes against women, the number of rape cases rose from 1,571 in 2013 to 2,069 in 2014, a jump of 31.70 per cent while cases of molestation grew from 3,345 to 4,179, a hike of 25 per cent.
2014 also saw a 185 per cent surge in street crime -- from 33,997 in 2013 to 96,922 in 2014.
The biggest rise of 459 per cent was registered in robberies which rose from 1,106 in 2013 to 6,180 in 2014 followed by theft and burglaries which recorded an increase of 327 and 289 per cent respectively.
The number of cases of snatching also grew by almost 100 per cent from 3,316 in 2013 to 6,944 in 2014.
Bassi, who took charge from Neeraj Kumar in August 2013, said the rise in cases was the result of his batting for "truthful registration" of crime.
Police officials, however, accept that in most of these street crimes, complainants were earlier turned away at police stations to keep the crime graph down.
"Last year, I had urged that we must stamp out burking from our functioning as it is one of the major causes of public dissatisfaction. I now have no hesitation in placing on record that reluctance to register cognizable crime has almost disappeared among Delhi Police officers," Bassi told reporters at Delhi Police's annual press conference.
"The seedling of truthful registration planted in 2013 has firmly established itself and the crime registration (1,47,230 till December 15) which had remained depressed for years (e.g. 64,882 in 1998 and 54,287 in 2012) now represents largely a true state of affairs, he said.
Some stark revelations regarding murders also came out of the data. Delhiites seem to be on short fuse with nearly 20 per cent of the murder cases reported in the national capital happening due to "sudden provocation" while only 10 per cent are crime related.
The data revealed where as many as 561 murders took place in the city as compared to 486 that took place in 2013.
An analysis of motive behind murders for the year 2014 reveals that 19.07 per cent of the cases were due to sudden provocation or trivial issues while 13.90 per cent murders took place due to old enmity.
As many as 10.87 per cent murders that took place in the city were sex related while 11.05 per cent murders took place due to differences amongst family members and 10.52 per cent due to disputes over property/money matters. Only 9.80 per cent of the murders were crime related.
Last year alone, 561 cases were registered. Out of these 76 per cent cases were solved, police said.
Incidents of murders per lakh population have shown a significant decline during the last fourteen years. While this figure was 3.95 in the year 2001, it has come down to 3.31 in 2014.
Bassi said since the true extent of crime in various parts of the city is now known, suitable strategies for prevention and detection of crime can be devised.
He, however, cautioned his colleagues that "truthful registration" was not a favour to the victims of crime.
"No conscientious police officer can ignore it. Unless an FIR is registered, the process of providing justice to the victim cannot begin," he said.
The police chief pointed out that enhanced registration, as a result of the efforts for truthful registration, has led to the solving of 5,784 heinous crimes as against 3,242 such cases during the previous year.
This increase shows many more criminals have been brought to book. A total of 43,431 cases were solved as compared to 36,134 cases during the previous year, he said.
An analysis of motives behind murders for the year 2014 reveals that 19.07 per cent of the cases were due to sudden provocation or trivial issues while 13.90 per cent murders took place due to old enmity, police said.
As many as 10.87 per cent murders that took place were sex-related. 11.05 per cent murders took place due to differences amongst family members and 10.52 per cent due to disputes over property/money matters. Only 9.80 per cent of the murders were due to other crimes.
