The number of crimes committed in the State has fallen. The detection rate has risen. But does that make Goa a safer place? From a casual glance at the statistics it does so appear. Yet, while it may be a reason to breathe easier knowing that the crime rate has fallen in Goa, there is also reason for alarm as the number of murders has increased drastically.
According to statistics tabled in the Legislative Assembly, there has been a 15 percent drop in crime but a 53 percent increase in the number of murders in the first six months of the year, when compared to the corresponding figures for 2015. The statistics further show that the crime rate in the year 2015 had already dropped over that of 2014 by 31 percent. All these figures show that despite an increasing population and growing urbanization, two factors assumed to lead to an increase in crime, Goa is a safer place to live in.
The statistics, however, require a more thorough scanning for a better understanding of the crime profile in the State. When one sifts through the crime statistics that have been released, there is evidence that petty crime is down, but the more serious one like killings and kidnappings are on the rise. Thefts, robberies, burglaries and rioting have shown a marginal decline in the past six months, but besides murders, it is kidnappings that have recorded a rise of nine percent over the previous corresponding period. This perhaps is in keeping with the national trend which is seeing an increase in kidnappings. These crimes are also linked to growing urbanization, increasing population and affluence. An indication of this is also the increasing number of prostitution rackets that the police keep busting at regular intervals and the narcotics hauls along the coast.
Goa being a small State with a small population, the figures may not as yet be alarming or even comparable to other larger States in the country, where for instance Madhya Pradesh in the year 2014 had over 2.7 lakh cognisable cases registered, but if the trend continues, then further research on the causes and efforts at curbing crime would be called for. An increase in violent crimes is worrisome as such a trend would also be a reflection of society’s misplaced values and morals. That is an area where the authorities and society have to cooperate. Here, the ‘Little Police’ programme adopted by the State could be better employed in bridging the gap between the people and the authorities.
The figures also show that the detection rate has risen. However, on the day the statistics were tabled in the House, the government also admitted that the police are still clueless regarding the murder of Sunita Lamani, a 22-year-old woman who was brutally murdered on an isolated stretch of the road at Salvador do Mundo over two months ago when she was returning home after dropping her niece to the anganwadi. According to the reply in the Assembly, the police have recorded the statements of over 50 people in the case and are yet to make any headway in the case. There are always some crimes that remain unsolved, and more efforts would be required to solve every crime reported.
Yes, the crime rate has declined, the numbers indicate this. The focus now should be on keeping it down. The trend of a decline in crime should not be merely of a temporary nature, it has to be made permanent. That may not be easy to achieve, but it surely can be aimed at. The aim should be to make Goa the safest State in the country.
