Data exposes vulnerability as government drafts long-term response strategy.
Despite an overall decline in registered crime cases in the national capital, Delhi continues to remain the most unsafe metropolitan city for women and juveniles, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The NCRB’s Crime in India 2024 report shows that Delhi recorded 13,396 cases of crimes against women during the year, the highest among all 19 metropolitan cities in the country. The figure accounts for more than a quarter of all crimes against women reported across metros and is marginally higher than the 13,366 cases registered in 2023.
Among these, the capital reported 1,058 rape cases, again the highest among metro cities. Cases of kidnapping and abduction of women also remained alarmingly high, with 3,974 incidents registered in 2024.
The NCRB data further revealed that Delhi recorded the highest rate of crimes committed by juveniles among metro cities. The city registered 2,306 juvenile offence cases in 2024, slightly higher than the 2,278 cases reported in 2023. The juvenile crime rate in Delhi stood at 41.6 percent, significantly above the national average of 7.9 percent.
Officials and experts say the figures point to persistent vulnerabilities in the capital’s policing and social safety systems despite repeated claims of improved surveillance and law enforcement.
“Delhi has better reporting mechanisms compared to many cities, but the scale of these numbers cannot be ignored,” said a former senior police official. “The data reflects both high reporting and continuing insecurity faced by women and children in urban spaces.”
The report also highlighted concerns around missing children. A total of 10,843 children were reported missing in Delhi by the end of 2024, including both fresh and pending cases from previous years. Of these, 7,649 were girls, underlining the disproportionate vulnerability of female minors. Delhi’s recovery rate for missing children stood at 62.4 percent.
Although overall cognisable crime in Delhi declined by nearly 15 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, the capital still recorded the highest total number of criminal cases among metro cities, with approximately 2.75 lakh cases registered during the year.
Women’s rights activists argue that the NCRB numbers reflect deeper structural problems.
“The issue is not just policing. It is public infrastructure, unsafe transport, weak community monitoring, and delayed justice,” said a Delhi-based women’s rights advocate. “Until conviction rates improve and prevention becomes more effective, these numbers are unlikely to change significantly.”
The latest NCRB report is also the first to include data under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaced the Indian Penal Code in July 2024.
