Juvenile crime up by 11.2%, crimes against senior citizens rose 16.9% in 2024: NCRB

New Delhi [India], May 7 : Cases involving juveniles in conflict with the law and crimes against senior citizens have registered a notable increase in 2024, according to official data of NCRB.

A total of 34,878 cases were registered against juveniles in 2024, marking an increase of 11.2 per cent compared to 31,365 cases reported in 2023. The crime rate also rose from 7.1 in 2023 to 7.9 in 2024.

During the year, 42,633 juveniles were apprehended in connection with these cases. Of these, 34,648 juveniles were involved in offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), while 7,985 were linked to Special and Local Laws (SLL).

Data further revealed that a significant majority, 77.7 per cent of the apprehended juveniles, belonged to the 16 to 18 years age group, indicating higher involvement of older adolescents in criminal activities.

Meanwhile, crimes against senior citizens (aged above 60 years) saw a sharp rise of 16.9 per cent in 2024, with 32,602 cases registered compared to 27,886 cases in 2023. Among various crime heads, theft accounted for the highest number of cases at 4,786 (14.7 per cent), followed by forgery, cheating and fraud (4,451 cases, 13.7 per cent). Murder cases involving senior citizens stood at 1,229, accounting for 3.8 per cent of total cases.

The data highlights emerging concerns over the increasing vulnerability of both elderly citizens and juveniles' involvement in crime, calling for focused preventive and rehabilitative measures.

The NCRB data also showed kidnapping and abduction cases declined by 15.4 per cent in 2024 to 96,079 cases, down from 1,13,564 in 2023, as per official figures.

However, crimes against children increased by 5.9 per cent, reaching 1,87,702 cases, with kidnapping and POCSO offences accounting for the largest share.

India also reported over 5.2 lakh missing persons in 2024, reflecting a 7.3 per cent increase from the previous year. The number of missing children in India witnessed a rise of 7.8 per cent in 2024, with a total of 98,375 children reported missing compared to 91,296 cases in 2023, according to official data.

Of the total missing children, 22,768 were boys, 75,603 were girls, and four were transgender persons. The data indicated that girls accounted for a significant majority of missing children cases during the year. During the same period, authorities traced or recovered 98,826 children, including 23,902 boys, 74,919 girls, and five transgender children, suggesting a high recovery rate.

The rise in missing children cases comes alongside an overall increase in missing persons.

Meanwhile, the nation recorded a total of 58,85,867 cognizable crimes in 2024, marking a decline of 6 per cent compared to 62,41,569 cases in 2023, according to official data.

The total cases include 35,44,608 under IPC and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and 23,41,259 under Special and Local Laws (SLL). The crime rate per lakh population also dropped from 448.3 in 2023 to 418.9 in 2024. Police disposed of 35,21,488 cases during investigation, with 25,40,668 cases charge-sheeted, resulting in a charge-sheeting rate of 72.1 per cent.

A significant decline was observed in 'hurt' cases, while wrongful restraint and confinement cases saw a rise during the year.

Officials underline the need for strengthened tracking mechanisms, improved coordination among law enforcement agencies, and greater public awareness to address the issue effectively.

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