FIR figures reach a plateau

Police records say number of cognisable offences in 2007 were fewer than in 1984

There has been a drastic increase in the city’s population, but, if one is to go by the number of FIRs being filed at police stations, it has seen a dip in crime rate over the years.

Over the past four years, the number of cognisable offences (for which FIRs are mandatory) registered in the city has reached a plateau. In 2007, the number of cognisable offences was 30,197. Surprisingly, this is fewer than the figure for 1984, when 32,419 cognisable offences were registered. The number peaked in 1994, when 40, 979 cognisable offences were registered.

More than anything else, this is a reflection of the aversion of the police to file FIRs, RTI activist Shailesh Gandhi said. Gandhi had filed an RTI application seeking details of cognisable and non-cognisable offences registered in the city. He was given figures of only cognisable offences.

Going by the figures provided, cognisable offences rate per lakh of population has actually dipped from 243 in 2001 to 227 in 2007. The highest — 414 — was in 1991.

As per the Criminal Procedure Code, the police can investigate a complaint only after an FIR is filed. In case of minor offences, the police file a non-cognisable complaint, which cannot be investigated unless directed by a magistrate.

“It is impossible to believe that crime rate per lakh of population has reduced,” Gandhi said.

Some experts said one cannot come to a conclusion based on the statistics collected. “This is an aggregate figure,” IPS officer-turned-lawyer YP Singh said. “It doesn’t show offences filed under Indian Penal Code and under special Acts that govern offences like gambling and drunken driving. I feel offences under IPC have gone up and those under special acts have gone down,” he said. 
r_menaka@dnaindia.net