Crimes Uncounted: When Data Becomes the State’s Defence

Crimes Uncounted: When Data Becomes the State’s Defence

When the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Report 2023 was published after an unnecessary lapse of nearly two years, it was not a reflection of transparency but a challenge to recollection. While reports are supposed to show a picture of law and order in India, the report reads as if it is a study in selective seeing what the State prefers to see and, much more importantly, what it chooses to erase. The NCRB’s data functions like gospel in co…

Counting Crimes, Discounting Justice: The NCRB's statistical blind spots

When the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Report 2023 was published after an unnecessary lapse of nearly two years, it was not a reflection of transparency but a challenge to recollection. While reports are supposed to show a picture of law and order in India, the report reads as if it is a study in selective seeing what the State prefers to see and, much more importantly, what it chooses to erase.  The NCRB’s data functions like gospel in c…