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Delhi may have witnessed a sharp decline in overall crime cases in 2024, but the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data revealed the capital recorded fewer offences compared to the previous year, violent crimes, sexual offences and crimes against children continued to cast a long shadow over the city’s law-and-order machinery.

The NCRB figures, released on Wednesday, show a significant 15.1% drop in overall IPC and BNS crimes in Delhi. After crossing the 3.2 lakh mark in 2023 — a year that saw nearly an 8% rise from 2022 — the number of registered cases fell to around 2.8 lakh in 2024.

However, a closer examination of the data reveals that the human toll of crime in Delhi remains severe, exposing troubling cracks in urban safety.

One of the most disturbing trends is the widening gap between the number of cases registered and the number of victims affected. Crimes against women accounted for 7,827 cases in 2024, but the number of survivors and victims stood at 7,904, indicating that several incidents targeted multiple women simultaneously.

The pattern becomes even more alarming in rape cases. Delhi registered 1,058 rape cases during the year, yet the number of survivors rose to 1,089.

The city recorded 504 murder cases, resulting in 522 victims. Road accidents proved equally deadly, with 1,521 accidents claiming 1,658 lives, underlining the lethal nature of Delhi’s traffic crisis.

Street crime and property-related offences continued to dominate police workload in the capital. Household theft emerged as the most commonly reported crime, with 10,690 cases and 10,705 victims. Burglary followed closely behind with 8,968 cases, exposing persistent vulnerabilities in residential and commercial security.

Vehicle theft remained a massive urban menace, with a staggering 39,976 cases recorded in 2024. The city also reported 1,510 robbery cases and 228 extortion incidents affecting 232 victims.

Juvenile crime

Juvenile crime added another disturbing layer to Delhi’s crime landscape. A total of 2,306 offences involved juveniles, including 144 murder cases, 526 robberies and 217 snatching incidents. Meanwhile, kidnapping and abduction cases stood at 5,417, affecting 5,603 victims.

But the most shocking revelation in the NCRB report concerns crimes against children — an area where Delhi continues to lead among metropolitan cities for all the wrong reasons.

In 2024 alone, Delhi recorded 7,662 cases of crimes against children. In comparison, Mumbai registered 3,374 such cases, while Bengaluru reported 2,026.

The capital’s child abduction numbers are particularly staggering. Delhi recorded 5,404 child kidnapping cases, dwarfing Mumbai’s 1,831 and Bengaluru’s 1,136. The numbers suggest that for every child abducted in Bengaluru, nearly five were kidnapped in Delhi.

Delhi also retained its grim position at the top in rape cases among metropolitan cities. The capital’s 1,058 rape cases were more than double Jaipur’s 497 cases, which ranked second, and far ahead of Mumbai’s 411 cases.

Even in the most horrific overlap crimes involving murder alongside rape or gang rape, Delhi topped the list with six cases and seven victims, ahead of Chennai and Bengaluru.

The disturbing trend extended to POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) cases as well. Delhi recorded 1,553 POCSO cases in 2024, surpassing Mumbai’s 1,416 cases, while Bengaluru appeared significantly safer with 594 reported cases.