With barely six out of every 100 criminal cases ending in conviction, Goa’s dismal 5.85 per cent conviction rate came under sharp attack in the Legisla tive Assembly on Tuesday, as the Opposition ques tioned the government’s handling of a mounting criminal case backlog, ris ing serious offences and a police force short of 575 personnel. The acute disparity emerged during a de bate on law and order in the Legislative Assembly, where Opposition mem bers pointed out that Goa’s crime detection rate stood at 98.92 per cent, but only a fraction of cases were ending in convictions. The government’s own figures showed that around 9,000 of 12,795 criminal cases remained pending, with the backlog directly affecting the conviction rate.
The Opposition used the five-year crime figures to challenge the government’s claim that Goa remains a safe State. Rape cases rose from 72 in 2021 to 103 in 2025 — an increase of 43 per cent — while oth er crimes against women increased by 58 per cent, crimes against children by 51 per cent, kidnapping by 50 per cent and narcotics cases by 34 per cent. Cybercrime showed an even more alarming trajec tory, jumping 272 per cent, from 32 cases in 2021 to 119 in 2025. Yet, the Op position pointed out, there were only two convictions in cybercrime cases during the period. The figures were accom panied by concerns over the emergence of organ ised crime. Cases under this category, which stood at zero in 2021, increased to 37 in 2025. Opposition members also referred to the recent Porvorim shoot out and the reported entry of drugs into Central Jail, questioning whether the government was adequate ly equipped to deal with an evolving crime landscape.
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They sought to know whether the government had con ducted any systematic analysis of Goa’s changing crime profile, including the role of organised criminal syndicates, interstate gangs, repeat offenders, history-sheeters, ab sconders and accused released on bail who subsequently became involved in further offences. They also demanded a rank-wise account of sanctioned and actual police strength. The manpower figures provided little comfort. Against a sanctioned strength of 5,034 police personnel, Goa cur rently has 4,459, leaving a shortfall of 575 personnel. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant sought to counter the crit icism by outlining a series of policing measures, including recruitment, intensified training, faster promotions, CCTV expansion, highway patrols, PCR deployment and stepped up tenant and labour verification. “The remaining vacant posts will be filled within a month. I will give instructions to the DGP,” Sawant said, while stat ing that nearly 250 Police Sub-Inspectors had been recruit ed and were undergoing training and that recruitment to other vacant posts was also under way. On the conviction rate, however, the government’s expla nation pointed back to the sheer volume of pending cases. Sawant said the approximately 9,000 pending cases among the 12,795 criminal cases were pulling down the overall conviction rate.
The Chief Minister disputed the Opposition’s contention that rape cases had increased, arguing that the figures in cluded cases arising from relationships that subsequently turned sour, disputes over marriage and cases involving minors whose age was discovered during pregnancy-relat ed medical examinations. He also reiterated his claim that more than 90 per cent of crimes in Goa, including rape and robbery, involved mi grants, and stressed mandatory tenant verification as an important crime-prevention measure. The cybercrime figures, meanwhile, exposed a particu larly difficult challenge for the police.
Sawant said fraud through mobile banking was evolving rapidly and urged citizens to exercise caution when dealing with unknown callers and immediately report financial fraud. He ac knowledged that only two cyber fraud cases had resulted in conviction. On narcotics, the government maintained that enforce ment had been strengthened under the NDPS Act, with Sawant claiming a conviction rate of around 28 per cent in drug-related cases. Sawant said around 700 additional CCTV cameras were under consideration, while highway patrol and PCR vehi cles had been deployed and tenant verification intensified. He maintained that Goa remained a safe State and warned that portraying it otherwise could damage its image as a tourism destination.
