BENGALURU: Violent crimes in Karnataka almost doubled in 2024 compared to 2023, and the state capital, Bengaluru, ranked third among 19 metropolitan cities with 5,612 violent crime cases. Karnataka also ranked third in crimes against senior citizens.
Tech capital Bengaluru topped in cybercrime, and figures among top cities in crimes against women, and crimes against senior citizens. Meanwhile, statistics reveal that Karnataka recorded a decline in overall crime in 2024.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released the Crime in India 2024 statistics recently. The bureau classified rape, attempt to rape, foeticide, infanticide, dowry deaths, murder, culpable homicide, attempt to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, hurt, kidnapping and abduction, rioting, robbery, dacoity, and arson as violent crimes.
According to the report, Karnataka registered 1,98,331 cases under IPC/BNS and Special and Local Laws (SLL) in 2024, down by 7.4% from 2,14,234 cases in 2023. The state had recorded 1,80,742 cases in 2022. Bengaluru registered 5,755 violent crime cases in 2024, compared to 6,852 cases in 2023. The report also showed a marginal rise in crimes against SC/ST communities in the state, with 2,016 cases registered in 2024, compared to 1,923 in 2023.
Former DG&IGP ST Ramesh told TNIE that the rise in crimes against senior citizens was of serious concern, particularly in urban areas such as Bengaluru, where many elderly people live alone while their children work abroad or in different cities, making them vulnerable to crime. He added that the increase in registered cases also indicates improved reporting and registration of offences by police.
He stressed that effective ‘community policing’ efforts were essential to curb crimes against senior citizens. “When police become community-centric, senior citizens visit them regularly and interact with them, and the department takes measures to strengthen security through patrolling and surveillance. This acts as a deterrence to criminals,” he said.
Ramesh noted that several offences involving senior citizens are often committed by domestic help, who are indispensable for elderly people living alone. He called for a robust system to verify the antecedents of domestic workers through an all-India criminal database, as most domestic help migrate from other states.
“Police should start maintaining photographs, phone numbers and identity details of domestic workers in a database so that tracking them becomes easier if they commit crimes, by creating a system to capture all info about domestic help of senior citizens living alone,” he added.
Commenting on the state police’s ‘Mane Manege Police’ initiative, Ramesh appreciated the effort and said it was another name for community policing. However, he pointed out that the shortage of police personnel remained a major challenge.
“This is not just Karnataka’s problem but an issue across the country. As population and vehicle density increase, limited police manpower makes it difficult to implement such initiatives effectively,” he said.
On thefts and housebreaking cases, Ramesh said both citizens and police share responsibility in preventing crime -- police must maintain records of known criminals, monitor their activities after release from jail, and strengthen surveillance.
“At the same time, citizens should remain alert, keep their houses secure, lock doors and windows properly, and cooperate with the police. In case a dwelling is required to remain locked, local police should be kept informed,” he said.
Speaking of crimes against women, Ramesh termed it an “eternal and deeply unfortunate problem” in the country. He said strict policing and case-by-case examination of rapes committed were necessary to prevent such offences.
“Every case must be analysed separately. Police action has to be firm and swift, depending on the nature of the crime. Educational programmes on respecting women must be undertaken in schools and colleges, and involve parents as well, he said.
POLICING MEASURES
A serving senior IPS officer said police departments across the state as well as in Bengaluru have introduced several initiatives to curb atrocities against SC/ST communities by establishing DCRE police stations, and a Cyber Command Centre to tackle cybercrimes.
For women’s safety, several initiatives have been launched under the Nirbhaya project. Hoysala police patrolling has been intensified, and online cab aggregators have been integrated with Namma 112.
The Rani Chennamma squads have also been visiting paying guest accommodations and colleges to create awareness among girls and women about laws and their rights, the officer said, adding that compared to 2023, crimes against women and cyber fraud have slightly declined in 2024. He added that police have intensified patrolling to curb violent crimes, while data also shows a decline in murder, kidnap and abduction cases.
CYBER CRIME: OF IMPERSONATION AND DIGITAL ARREST
In 2024, as many as 21,993 cybercrime cases were registered, of which 17,561 were reported in Bengaluru, with a chargesheet rate of 24.2 per cent. Of the 17,561 cases, 16,657 were related to online impersonation fraud, and largely involved scammers posing as police officers, government officials, bank executives, customer care representatives, or relatives to cheat victims into transferring money.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime 2) Raja Imam Kasim P told TNIE that 2024 saw the emergence of several new cyber offences. However, cybercrime cases have now declined, except for investment frauds and digital arrest scams.
He said police had launched several public awareness programmes to educate citizens about cyber fraud. “When it comes to Bengaluru, police have meticulously registered every case, and the city has exclusive police stations dedicated to cybercrime,” he said.
Asked about conviction rate, he said unlike conventional crimes, cyber offences occur on digital platforms, where money is transferred from one account to multiple accounts across different locations. He added that such crimes also involve mule accounts, which hamper investigations.
Further, mule account holders and operators often function from different states, making coordination difficult during investigations. He added that coordination committees have now been formed with other states to facilitate investigation.
The 1930 cybercrime helpline portal, which was earlier handled manually, has now been unified, helping authorities quickly block accounts and immediately alert police once a complaint is filed on the portal. Banks have been advised to block suspicious accounts.