A survey report released by Praja says that crime against women in Mumbai has doubled from last year
Mumbai : Crime against women in Mumbai has doubled while residents of North Mumbai feel most unsafe as compared to those staying in other parts of the city.
This was revealed from statistics and a survey report released by Praja Foundation, a non-governmental organization which came out with a “white paper” on state of policing, and law and order. Statistics show that the number of crimes against women in 2013-2014 has almost doubled as compared to 2012-2013. There has been a 47% increase in the number of rape cases whereas molestation cases have seen a rise of 52%. Besides, chain snatching has shown a startling increase of 66%.
“In order to bring down these cases, the government needs to ensure that the rate of conviction is increased. Criminals don’t fear the legal system and tend to believe that they can walk away with the felony that they have committed. We must not allow crime to take over the city because of the low conviction rates,” said Nitai Mehta, Founder Trustee, Praja Foundation.
The conviction rate gives a dismal picture with the police getting only 8% accused convicted for various crimes in 2013-2014. Besides this, pending investigation also remains a cause of concern. Figures show that in 2013, police completed investigation in only 38,814 cases out of 83,415 registered in the city.
The survey conducted by Praja further showed that 44% people living in North Mumbai do not feel safe in their respective localities. Besides, around 45% residents of same area believe that the locality is extremely unsafe for women, children and senior citizens. North Mumbai covers areas like Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali, Borivali and Dahisar.
After North Mumbai, residents of South Central feel unsafe and find that their localities are not safe for women, children and senior citizens. Even in South Mumbai, women feel unsafe.
Further, as per the survey conducted among 22,580 respondents from all the 100 wards of the city between April to May, it was found that 34% of the respondents did not report cases to the police because they did not have the time, while 28% did not report their cases as they did not want to be involved in any trouble.
“We believe that people must report crimes against them to the police as a duty towards the society. Also, the police on their end must make an effort to make it easier for people to report their cases,” said T N Srividya, a member of Praja.
