By - Moa Jamir
The latest Crime in India 2023 report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) once again places Nagaland among the safest states in the country. With a cognisable crime rate of 84.9 per lakh population, the second lowest in India, the State continues to project an image of social stability and security. Likewise, it retains its long-held distinction as the ‘safest’ State for women, registering only 56 cases of crimes against women in 2023, translating to a rate of 5.2 per lakh, far below the national average of 66.2.
Yet, while these numbers appear reassuring, they conceal complex realities. Year after year, NCRB data reaffirm a paradox: Nagaland’s official crime figures remain low even as incidents of abuse, sexual violence, and extortion continue to unsettle public consciousness. The question is not merely how safe Nagaland is, but how completely its safety is being captured by official data.
A closer look at recent trends reveals a more nuanced picture. Between 2021 and 2023, the total number of cognisable crimes in Nagaland rose by nearly 29%, from 1478 to 1899. Crimes against women fluctuated, climbing again to 56 in 2023. Crimes against children declined from 51 in 2021 to 26 in 2023, yet offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act continue to form the bulk of such cases.
The persistence of sexual offences within these limited figures is significant. In 2023, over three-fourths of crimes against women in Nagaland were related to sexual violence. Of the 10 registered rape cases, eight were committed by individuals known to the victims, showing how abuse often occurs within the circles of trust.
The trend in extortion and blackmailing offers another dimension to this paradox. Nagaland registered 89 cases of extortion in 2023, the lowest in a decade. This marks a reduction of more than 55% from its 2019 peak of 201 cases. Yet despite this decline, the State still ranks among the highest in India for extortion-related offences, recording the second-highest rate nationally at 4.0 per lakh population, compared to the national average of 0.9. Nagaland was only recently displaced by Manipur. The figures underscore how certain crimes remain entrenched even amid apparent stability.
Such contrasts highlight the limits of reading NCRB data at face value. Nagaland’s low crime rate is often attributed to strong community ties and the functioning of customary village courts that mediate disputes locally. While these mechanisms help preserve social harmony, they also enable informal settlements that keep many offences, particularly domestic abuse and sexual violence, outside formal reporting systems. Under-reporting is not a statistical oversight but a lived social reality.
The lower charge-sheeting rate of 67.6% in 2023, below the national average of 80.1%, exposes gaps in investigation and prosecution. The apparent safety, then, might reflect not an absence of crime, but the limits of detection, documentation, and redressal.
To interpret NCRB data meaningfully, one must look beyond the numbers. The decline in child-related or extortion cases may indicate not just reduced occurrence but shifting thresholds of reporting and enforcement. Conversely, the sharp rise in POCSO cases in 2021 suggested a slow but welcome emergence of awareness and willingness to seek justice.
For Nagaland, the goal should not merely be to remain the ‘safest State’ on paper but to ensure that every citizen, especially women and children, feels, and is, genuinely safe. True safety lies not in the comfort of statistics, but in the courage of those who speak and the commitment of institutions that choose to listen.
For any feedback, drop a line to jamir.moa@gmail.com
