Is There An Increase In Crime Rates Amid Lockdown?

Covid-19 pandemic also known as coronavirus pandemic has brought immense damage to human civilization. Pandemic has brought our life to almost stand still. Corona virus has become one of the most contagious and deadly viruses within the world and it is still spreading at a huge rate and right now all our medical groups are trying their best to control the virus-spread. This situation has made all of us to isolate ourselves in our own home. In India, the government has imposed lockdown to control the infection which initially began on 24 March, 2020 and currently things are getting back to normal with fewer restrictions as compared to initial days. We can say Coronavirus induced lockdown has helped to limit the spread of infection to some extent but additionally it has brought a serious harm to the economy of the country.

Crime rates amid lockdown on average have considerably dropped to 20-30%. We saw a 40% fall in murder cases in March and April this year in comparison to last year and 70% fall in rape cases. But that's not the whole picture.

What's the latest news?

• Horrifying Global Surge in domestic abuse / violence amid lockdown.
• Cybercrimes have soared to 86% in the months of March and April.
• Crime rates spike as lockdown rules ease, July crime rates 22% more than June.
• 50 Lakh Salaried Jobs Lost in July, nearly 2 Crore Since April due to Covid-19
• Unusual increase in theft and snatching cases.

Crime rates for murder, rape and kidnapping may have drop but crimes associated with domestic abuse, cybercrimes and snatching cases are increasing on daily basis and plenty nevertheless not registered. Experts have suggested that there is a decent chance for a rise in overall crime rates with the ease in lockdown restrictions.

Cybercrimes have also become a serious problem world-wide and have shown a rise amid lockdown particularly in India. India has more than 550 million internet users. This makes India more prone to cyber-attacks owing to its high market value. Cybercriminals are coming up with different traps and techniques to trap the user, some send malicious links in order to steal personal info and blackmail the victim whereas some do fake calls to get the sensitive info from the user. However, during lockdown fake websites or fake versions of donation platforms were the main traps to entice the online users and plenty of people fell into their trap and gave their money to the fake websites.  Experts have said that with the digitalization of the world, Cybercrimes may shoot up in the future. Therefore, it's important people should download apps from a safe browser and keep their mobile/ computer safe by downloading anti-virus software’s. Cross-checking a website and not falling prey to fake news and traps on the web is necessary.

A tremendous rise in domestic violence cases can also be witnessed on the basis of statistics made available by police amid coronavirus induced lockdown. Victims are trapped inside with the abuser and this has made their life even more miserable because now being trapped with wrongdoer they have to bear the violence or abuse. Domestic violence involves a pattern of psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional abuse. Acts of assault, threats, humiliation, and intimidation are also considered acts of violence. According to India's national family health survey, an exhaustive household government survey, from 2015-16, around 33% of women have experienced spousal violence, which includes physical, sexual or emotional abuse and just 14 % of women who experienced violence have come forward for help and stopped it. These statistics are frightening to look at, that they solely shock us to our core that someone who is harassed, physically abused still not gathers some courage to take a stand for them. Yes, one could say fear of society, fear of judgments or fear of abuser might be the reason for their silence but if you're a victim of any kind of abuse or violence, stand for yourself. Police can only help you if you speak out for yourself. Staying silent and tolerating the abuse is a much bigger crime. Break the silence!

One of the major reasons for increasing incidents of crime is the increasing unemployment. Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the Indian economy due to which a lot of people are left unemployed. Daily wagers, labourer's and street vendors are badly affected by the lockdown. Shortage of food and supplies has made people self-conscious that have raised the sensation of "me" before others. These severe circumstances have made an adverse impact on the psychological state of people due to which they are not able to think properly and simply make poor decisions. Their approach has narrowed all the way down to following their survival instincts because of that there is increment in aggressive behavior among people in lockdown. This aggressive behavior and short temperament is mainly responsible for a spike in domestic violence cases. Lack of employment opportunities led many people, particularly youngsters, into choosing crime as a medium to earn money. Fear of death from starvation has outgrown that of death by the infection. Youngsters are blindfolded by the responsibilities they are carrying on their shoulders of their family and are being pushed to the brink to rob people so as to satisfy their basic amenities. Provisions of employment opportunities and basic amenities are the need of the hour otherwise as predicted by experts, things may take a violent flip in future if things did not get better.