An Analysis of Crime Occurrences in Fort Range of Tiruchirappalli City, Tamil Nadu
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The Journal of ZEPHYRUS ISSN: 0514-7336 AN ANALYSIS OF CRIME OCCURRENCES IN FORT RANGE OF TIRUCHIRAPPALLI CITY, TAMIL NADU P. Mary Santhi* *Research Scholar, Department of Geography Periyar E.V.R. College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli – 620 023 S. Balaselvakumar* *Assistant Professor, Department of Geography Periyar E.V.R. College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli – 620 023 Affiliated to Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli – 620 024 K. Kumaraswamy** **ICSSR Senior Fellow - Emeritus Professor **Department of Geography, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli – 620 024 ABSTRACT This paper is an attempt to examine the crime occurrences in Tiruchirappalli city’s Fort range. It reveals that robbery (52.9%), Fort police station (49) and the year 2017 (24.5%) of major crimes and cruelty by husband (43.8%), AWPS of Fort (72) and the year 2012 (20.8%) of crime against women were high compared to other crimes, police stations and years. The minimum was murder for gain (1.0%) and kidnapping (6.3%) in the range from 2012 to 2017. A crime risk map has been prepared to prevent crimes in the range, especially in the Fort police station limit. KEYWORDS Fort range, Major crimes, Crime against women, Crime mapping, Hotspot INTRODUCTION Crime is a long-standing universal concept that is handed over from generation to generation. The criminal activity contributes to the establishment of law and order. It's a psychological affliction. It is shaped by culture, and society suffers greatly as a result of its members' criminal acts. The general public is alarmed by today's growing tide of violence. No one is healthy today. The planet is full of criminals, and drug crime is on the rise. Criminals are employing technological tools to conduct offences as Volume 11 Issue - 5 2021 Page No: 130 The Journal of ZEPHYRUS ISSN: 0514-7336 science and technology development and the tactics employed have perplexed investigators. Criminals' relentless and continuous activities threatened society's peace and happiness. When criminals are not charged, they are allowed to commit further offences. In this period of mass unemployment, both skilled and uneducated people are searching for jobs. There have been limited studies concerned about range-wise analysis of crimes such as Bhattacharyya, R. (2016) analysed the contextual factors responsible for the occurrence of Street Violence Against Women (SVAW) in five cities of North‐east India; Chauhan, R., and Baraik, V. K. (2016) explored the spatial and temporal aspects of crime against women in India with special reference to rape; Khadke, P. A., et al. (2019) focused on rape, dowry death, kidnapping and abduction, molestation, dowry or cruelty by husband or his relatives for dowry etc. in city level; Lolayekar, A. P., et al. (2020) explored the reasons for the incidence of rape, kidnapping, cruelty, dowry deaths, and molestation, across 35 states in Tamil Nadu; Singh, R., et al. (2020) explained the general forms of violence against women in India includes cruelty by relatives, dowry, rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, immoral trafficking, molestation etc.; Kuralarasan, K., and Priyamvadha, M. (2019) studied the proportion of rationality and opportunity in the commission of crime; Salomat, N., (2020) examined the experience of victim prevention in violent crimes; Taghidizaj, R. A., (2021) provided a model for explaining violence that feeds on the middle and macro analytical levels; Swanson, J. W., et al. (2020) presented a survival analysis of long-term risk of firearm-related and other violent crime; Alatrash, I., (2021) analyzed murder related to age group, gender, and nature of work; Farida, F., and Kusriyah, S., (2021) identified and described the legal protection of women perpetrators of the crime of abortion, victims of rape; Mary Santhi, P., Balaselvakumar, S., (2018- A) examined Volume 11 Issue - 5 2021 Page No: 131 The Journal of ZEPHYRUS ISSN: 0514-7336 the mapping and analysing of major crimes to decline crime rate; Mary Santhi, P., Balaselvakumar, S., (2018- B) attempted to analyse the types and extent of crimes against women; Wang, Z., and Zhang, H. (2019) studied the distribution patterns of hot crime areas by using the spatial temporal kernel density estimation methods. Therefore, this study aims to help the city police administration of Fort range to have sufficient awareness of the incidence of crimes to understand the crime pattern and to reduce the crimes in the range. STUDY AREA The Survey of India (SOI) Toposheets Nos. 58 J/9, 10, 13, and 14 were used to establish the Fort range of Tiruchirappalli city's base map. The city is located between 10° 43' 40" and 10° 53' 00" north latitude and 78° 38' 14" and 78° 48' 50" east longitude (Fig. 1). The Fort range includes the jurisdiction of Fort Police Station including All Women Police Station and is situated in Big Bazaar Street, Singarathope. It is about 5.8 km from the Police Commissioner’s office. It encompasses an area of 9.51 sq. km in the city. Palakkarai Police Station is located in Khooni Bazar, Palakkarai and is about 3.6 km from the Police Commissioner’s office. It covers 3.03 sq. km in the city. Gandhi Market Police Station lies in Madurai Road and is about 4.7 km from the Police Commissioner’s office. It covers an area of 3.48 sq. km in the city. The area covered by the Fort range is 16.01 sq. km and it includes important places like Karur bypass road, Nandhikovil Street, NSB Road, Madurai Road, Poosari Street, and Palakkarai. This range comprises congested, commercial, market and with high mobility areas of population. Volume 11 Issue - 5 2021 Page No: 132 The Journal of ZEPHYRUS ISSN: 0514-7336 Volume 11 Issue - 5 2021 Page No: 133 The Journal of ZEPHYRUS ISSN: 0514-7336 METHODOLOGY The data on the incidence of crimes in various parts of Fort range of Tiruchirappalli city was collected from the City Commissioner of Police Office and 4 Police Stations for the period 2012-2017. They have been analysed to portray the spatial distribution and variation of major crimes and crime against women in the city of Fort range. The IPC crimes reported under related offences have been classified into two categories as per CCRB for the present study. They are Major crimes (Murder, Murder for gain, Dacoity, Burglary, Theft, Robbery and Crime Against Women (Rape, Kidnapping, Dowry death, Molestation, Cruelty by Husband, Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and POCSO Act, 2012) have been incorporated in the analysis to derive reliable crime rates through thematic maps by using Geoinformatics. RESULT AND DISCUSSION CRIME - WISE ANALYSIS OF MAJOR CRIMES MURDER Murder is considered the most serious form of homicide and it is the unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by another. The reason for murder varies from case to case and scenario to scenario. Moreover, the most common causes are dispute over wealth, property and women. In some cases, sharp provocation becomes the explanation for the murder. The purpose of the murder is largely the gain either from property, money, women or to take revenge. Volume 11 Issue - 5 2021 Page No: 134 The Journal of ZEPHYRUS ISSN: 0514-7336 The analysis of the major crimes in the range for the period 2012-2017 shows that of the total crimes committed, 24.5% had been murder (Table 1). The maximum rate of murder was recorded in 2016, which was 28% and minimum recorded in 2014, which was 4% and the highest number 11 (44%) of murders had been registered in Gandhi Market and the lowest 06 (24%) in Palakkarai police stations (Table 2). Volume 11 Issue - 5 2021 Page No: 135 The Journal of ZEPHYRUS ISSN: 0514-7336 MURDER FOR GAIN A murder committed for gain in the continuance of a burglary or theft carried out for payment or discharged in presuming gain because the death obstructs or affects the sequence of justice. The study of the murders for gain in the range from 2012 to 2017 reveals that murders committed for gain were 1.0% in Fort range was registered in Fort police station. DACOITY If an act of fierce robbery is carried out by an equipped mob, there is no difference between robbery and dacoity apart from the total number of criminals. Robbery is dacoity if the individuals carrying out robbery are five or more in number. This means that if the crime of robbery committed with the collaboration of more than five members it becomes dacoity. Every person so committing, attempting or aiding, is said to commit dacoity (IPC section 391). While comparing dacoity with other major crimes of the analysing zone from 2012 to 2017, it was found that no dacoity had been recorded in the Fort range. ROBBERY Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of worth by force or threat of force or placing the victim in terror. According to common law, robbery is interpreted as snatching the assets of another, to permanently deprive the individual of those assets, using pressure or fright. It is theft accomplished by an assault. Precise descriptions of the crime may differ between jurisdictions. Robbery is distinguished Volume 11 Issue - 5 2021 Page No: 136 The Journal of ZEPHYRUS ISSN: 0514-7336 from other procedures of theft (such as burglary, shoplifting, or car theft) by its characteristically fierce nature (a violent crime). While analysing the major crimes in the study area from 2012 to 2017, it has been found that 31% of robberies were recorded in 2017, which was the maximum, and 04% was recorded as a minimum in the year 2014. Total robberies were 52.9 % of all other major crimes. This reveals the fact that the range was not at all free from robbery and the highest number 27 (50%) of robberies had been registered in Fort and the lowest 11 (20.4%) in Palakkarai police stations BURGLARY A burglary is an act of breaking in, sometimes a house.