Dalits more vulnerable to crimes than upper caste members, reveals survey

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Despite decades of efforts since Independence to improve their lot, Daits continue to be at the receiving end of oppressive acts including crimes. According to the Karnataka Crime Victimisation Survey (KCVS) 2018–2019, the findings of which were published recently, Dalits were 48 percent more likely to be vulnerable to crimes than upper-caste members.

It was also revealed that there was 'a tendency' among the police to favour upper and middle-class complainants in registering FIRs and encourage complainants from lower classes to settle the matter without filing official complaints. Azim Premji University had commissioned the survey to get a better understanding of crime and victimization.

The survey team was led by Sudhir Krishnaswamy, vice chancellor, National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and Varsha Aithala, doctoral candidate, NLSIU. The survey compiled data from a sample of 2,002 households across Karnataka and covered personal crimes (murder, assault, etc) and household property crimes (robbery, trespass, etc.)

The questions around victimization based on gender, caste, and class that have remained largely unaddressed in criminological studies were the focus of the survey, and it found that victimization varied across gender and caste and also that reporting and recording of crimes depended on socioeconomic markers and the victim's confidence in the system.According to the survey, nine percent more men reported being victims of crime than women.

The survey found that only one in four instances of victimization were reported, and only 13 percent of the respondents who approached the police could register complaints. It found about 59 percent of victims were satisfied with the police response.

Krishnaswamy reportedly said public understanding of crimes could be skewed if drawn entirely on police and reported narratives and that developing a survey-based understanding of what people think is for the relative safety and order of the communities they live in.

"Do they feel safe irrespective of their caste and class backgrounds? How does gender make a difference? Would they report (the crime)? Who has confidence in the police force? This kind of work has not been done," he added.