NEW DELHI: In a move expected to increase conviction rates and make the criminal justice system more efficient, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will soon start releasing data on how long the police take to complete investigations.
For the first time, the bureau will also collate information on preventive arrests and detentions. This data will be part of the 2017 NCRB Crime in India (CII) report, which is expected in a few months.
The report will have six new categories, listing the police’s disposal rate for various kinds of offences like crimes against women, children, senior citizens, people belonging to SC/ST community, economic offences, environmental offences and cybercrimes, top sources in the government told The New Indian Express.
The new categories will be classified against the time police stations took to file charge sheets/final reports. The durations listed out are: within 2 months, 2-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12 months-2 years and more than 2 years. As of now, the only data available is on the number of charge sheets/final reports/cases withdrawn.
“Detailed data on the time the police take to complete investigations in various kinds of cases will help improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system in many ways — it will make the police more accountable, pave the way for swift justice, and make the system more transparent,” said a senior government functionary who did not wish to be named.
The NCRB is the wing of the Home ministry that tabulates and analyses crime data from across the country every year.