Statsguru: 6 charts explain how pandemic led to rise in crime rate in India

Delhi had the highest crime rate among metropolises of 1,859 crimes per 100,000-four times the national average-but had the lowest chargesheeting rate of 34.1%

The Covid-19 pandemic affected economic activity and increased poverty. The latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that it also increased crime. NCRB data shows that crime incidence increased 30.4 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019. In 2021, the crime rate declined but was still higher than pre-Covid levels (chart 1). 

Police action also caught up as the crime rate increased. The number of cases where a charge sheet was filed steadily declined till 2019, but rose 8.6 percentage points in 2020. Although it dropped to 72.3 per cent in 2021, it was still higher than