National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report

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• Recently released  National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report gives statistics on crimes across various states under multiple laws.

Report findings

• Crime against Children:
  • Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act:
    • 1,49,404 cases of crime against children were registered in 2021 of which 53,874 — 36.05 percent — were under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
    • NCRB data on cases registered under POCSO show a steady increase in the rate (incidents per 1 lakh children): 
      • 12.1 in 2021 (53,276 girls, 1,083 boys); 
      • 10.6 in both 2020 and 2019.
    • State-wise:
      • Sikkim has the highest rate of sexual offences against children with 48.6 followed by Kerala (28.1), Meghalaya (27.8), Haryana (24.7) and Mizoram (24.6).
      • The largest number of cases registered under POCSO in 2021 was in UP (7,129) followed by Maharashtra (6,200), Madhya Pradesh (6,070), Tamil Nadu (4,465) and Karnataka (2,813).
      • Among union territories, Delhi had the highest rate of crimes against children in 2021. 
  • Child labour Act:
    • There were 982 cases registered under the Child Labour Act last year with the highest number of cases registered in Telangana (305) followed by Assam.
  • Prohibition of Child Marriage Act: 
    • The report states that 1,062 cases were registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act last year with the top three states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Assam.
  • Overall:
    • In percentage terms, the top categories under crime against children during 2021 were kidnapping and abduction (45 percent) followed by POCSO cases.
    • In all, there was a 16.2 percent rise in cases of crime against children in 2021 from the previous year.
• Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act:
  • Punjab yet again topped the list of crime rate (per lakh population) in cases lodged last year under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
    • Himachal Pradesh ended second on the list in the same category.
  • Lowest:
    • The lowest crime rate under NDPS Act in 2021 was reported from UT Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (0.5 percent), followed by the states of Gujarat (0.7 percent) and Bihar (1.2 percent), as per the NCRB report.
• Crimes against Women in Delhi and other metropolis:
  • Two minor girls were raped every day last year in the national capital, which was the most unsafe metropolitan city for women across the country, according to the report.
  • Delhi also recorded 13,892 cases of crimes against women in 2021, a significant surge of more than 40% compared to 2020.
    • Delhi was followed by the financial capital Mumbai, which saw 5,543 such instances, and Bengaluru with 3,127 cases. 
  • The national capital has also reported the highest number of cases of crimes against women in the categories related to kidnapping, cruelty by husbands and girl child rapes as compared to other metropolitan cities.

More about the above-mentioned laws

• Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act, 2012:
  • It is a special law to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
  • Purpose of the law:
    • To provide protection of children from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography while safeguarding the interests of the child at every stage of the judicial process by incorporating child-friendly mechanisms for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and speedy trial of offences through designated special courts.
• Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act, 2015: 
  • Powers to safeguard the best interests of India’s children.
  • For this purpose, Child Protection Committees, Child Protection Units and CWCs have been formed and are functioning at the district level.
• Child Labour Act (Prohibition and Regulation) 1986: 
  • It prohibits children under the age of 14 years to be working in hazardous industries and processes.
• The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (CALPRA):
  • CALPRA states that no child shall be allowed to work for more than five hours in a day, and for not more than three hours without rest. 
  • The provisions of CALPRA also state, that at least 20% of the income earned by the child from the production or event is to be directly deposited in a fixed deposit account in a nationalised bank in the name of the child which may be credited to her/him on attaining majority. 
• Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929: 
  • It restricts the practice of child marriage.
• Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: 
  • It was enacted to address and fix the shortcomings of the Child Marriage Restraint Act.
• Special Marriage Act, 1954 and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: 
  • These prescribe 18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women and men respectively.
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act), 1985: 
  • Its primary objective is to regulate the manufacturing, possession, sale, and transportation of drugs that are considered narcotics or psychotropics. 
  • As a result of this act, 200 psychotropic substances are prohibited from sale to walk-in customers. 
  • The Act includes provisions for the cultivation of cannabis, poppy, and coca plants as well as the manufacturing of psychotropic substances in connection with the cultivation of these plants.