SURAT: The latest crime figures recently presented in the house of the state assembly by the government can leave citizens of the Diamond City worried. A total of 3,223 thefts were reported in the city in 2019, which is the highest number in the state among all the cities.
In 2018, the number of thefts were 2,086 much lesser than its following year, and police suspect that due to the rise in snatching crimes, the numbers have gone high.
Going by the figures, the city witnessed over eight thefts per day, while one kidnapping and one house break-ins were also reported in the city on daily basis. Despite being the commercial hub, the city witnessed two suicides daily in 2019. However, there is a drop in the number of suicides compared to previous year which was 816.
The police claim that though the number of crimes are high there is a considerable drop compared to the last year. City police commissioner R B Brahmbhatt told TOI: “Police’s priority is to detect the cases. We can judge police’s performance from the number of cases solved. We have detected a majority of the serious crimes and arrested the involved accused.”
“The rise and drop in the crime may not be too much compared to the past year and it is routine. But police's focus is on solving the crime,” Brahmbhatt added.
The police detected 198 rapes out of 199 cases reported, while 91 murder cases have been solved of the total 97 registered. Apart from serious crime cases, the detection of theft and house break-in remain challenging area for the city police. A large number of theft and house break-in cases remained undetected in 2019.
Out of the reported thefts, a total of 2,054 thefts have not been detected. Similarly, out of 406 house break-ins, 252 are yet to get detected.
“Though employed, poor living conditions and financial crisis drive many individuals into criminal world. They are not part of organized gang but they develop habit of committing crime out of need in most cases,” said Kiran Desai, a social scientist at Centre for Social Studies (CSS).
“Apart from locally available workforce a large number of migrants come regularly to the city in search of livelihood, and we need to think over economic distress among them. Better working and living conditions need to be provided to all class of workers,” Desai added.
In 2018, the number of thefts were 2,086 much lesser than its following year, and police suspect that due to the rise in snatching crimes, the numbers have gone high.
Going by the figures, the city witnessed over eight thefts per day, while one kidnapping and one house break-ins were also reported in the city on daily basis. Despite being the commercial hub, the city witnessed two suicides daily in 2019. However, there is a drop in the number of suicides compared to previous year which was 816.
The police claim that though the number of crimes are high there is a considerable drop compared to the last year. City police commissioner R B Brahmbhatt told TOI: “Police’s priority is to detect the cases. We can judge police’s performance from the number of cases solved. We have detected a majority of the serious crimes and arrested the involved accused.”
“The rise and drop in the crime may not be too much compared to the past year and it is routine. But police's focus is on solving the crime,” Brahmbhatt added.
The police detected 198 rapes out of 199 cases reported, while 91 murder cases have been solved of the total 97 registered. Apart from serious crime cases, the detection of theft and house break-in remain challenging area for the city police. A large number of theft and house break-in cases remained undetected in 2019.
Out of the reported thefts, a total of 2,054 thefts have not been detected. Similarly, out of 406 house break-ins, 252 are yet to get detected.
“Though employed, poor living conditions and financial crisis drive many individuals into criminal world. They are not part of organized gang but they develop habit of committing crime out of need in most cases,” said Kiran Desai, a social scientist at Centre for Social Studies (CSS).
“Apart from locally available workforce a large number of migrants come regularly to the city in search of livelihood, and we need to think over economic distress among them. Better working and living conditions need to be provided to all class of workers,” Desai added.
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