Is the NCRB Delaying the Release of Its Reports?

The reports for years, 2014 & 2015 were released within 7 months. Curiously, the 2016 report is yet to be released.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is an organisation under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It releases data based annual reports on varied subjects related to crime, accidents, prisons etc. Some reports for the year 2016 have not been released yet.

Historical data on the month of release of these reports indicates that this is the first time since 2010 when the delay in releasing reports has been longer than 12 months.

The delay in the publication of these reports defeats the purpose of compiling them.

The NCRB Reports

The NCRB releases three reports every year and the Central Finger Print Bureau releases the annual finger print in India report.

Release of The CII Report – Improvement Since 2004

The data for the annual Crime in India (CII) report is provided by the states/UTs in a prescribed proforma.

This data is compiled by the NCRB in the form of Crime in India, which gives complete data on incidence of crime, disposal of cases by police & courts, crimes against women, children etc.

On average, the CII report has been released by the NCRB with a delay of about 23 months since the year 1953. But the average delay since the year 2000 has gone down to 11 months.

The greatest delay was in the release of the 1984 report, the year which the anti-Sikh riots took place. The 1984 report was released in the year 1992, after a delay of 86 months or more than six years. The 1983 report was also delayed by five years.

There have been only three occasions when the report was released after a delay of five years. Since 2004, the CII report has been released every year within 12 months.

Between 2010 and 2015, this time lag was less than 10 months where as the 2016 report was released in November 2017, ie, within 11 months. For the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, the reports were released within six months.

Release of The ADSI Report – 2016 Report is Yet to Be Released

The Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (ADSI) report provides data on various accidental deaths & suicides in India. Though the report is being published since 1967, the month of release of this report is only available from the year 1976.

The delay in the release of the ADSI report has been decreasing over the years.

On average, the report has been released within 21 months since 1976. Since the year 2005, the report has been released within nine months on average. Both the 1979 and 1985 reports were released after a gap of 40 months, the highest for any year. Since 2010, the report has been released within nine months.

For the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, the report was released within six months while for the years 2014 & 2015, the report was released within seven months. Curiously, the 2016 report is yet to be released.

Prison Statistics India Report – Improvement in The Last 6 Years

The Prison Statistics India report provides data on all prisons in India, their occupancy, details of the prisoners etc. This report is being published by the NCRB since 1995.

Till the year 2004, this report was released within 24 months on average while the average delay went down to 14 months since 2005. In fact, the average gap has reduced to less than 10 months since 2011. The 2016 report is yet to be released.

Delayed Reports Defeat the Purpose

These reports provide an opportunity to governments & other stake holders to review crime and various other statistics.

The reports also provide trends, there by pushing governments for relevant corrective action.

For instance, the reported number of rape cases increased by over 30 percent in the year 2013, the year after the Nirbhaya incident in Delhi, possibly because of greater awareness and amendments made to the Criminal Law.

The undue delay in the release of these reports defeats the purpose of compiling them.

One had hoped that the NCRB will release these reports within 6 months with the introduction of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS).

But strangely, both the ADSI and the Prison Statistics report for 2016 are not yet released.

(The story was initially published on FACTLY and has been republished with permission.)

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