NCRB Report: Delhi lost over Rs 680 cr to theft in ’23

The national capital reported property losses of more than Rs 680 crore in 2023, retaining its position among the top three regions with the highest value of stolen property across states and Union Territories for the third year in a row, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

The city reported ‘property theft’, as categorised by the police, worth Rs 688.6 crore in 2023. Of this, the police managed to recover property valued at Rs 99.7 crore — a recovery rate of 14.5 per cent.

Across India, property worth Rs 6,917.2 crore was stolen during the year, with 29.9 per cent of it recovered.

Delhi ranked third nationally, after Maharashtra and Manipur. Even though the city accounted for a significant share of the stolen property, its contribution to the national total has reduced steadily over the last three years.

In 2021, the capital made up 14 per cent of the total stolen property in India. This share dropped to 11.9 per cent in 2022 and further to 10 per cent in 2023. This means that while Delhi has remained in the top three every year since 2021, its share in the national pool of stolen property has declined by about four percentage points in three years.

The gap in recovery rates is another consistent pattern. While the national recovery rate stayed between 29 and 36 per cent over the last three years, Delhi’s rate remained between 11 and 17 per cent. In 2021, the city’s recovery rate was 11.1 per cent, 19.1 points lower than the national average of 30.2 per cent.

In 2022, it was 17 per cent, 19 points lower than the national figure of 36 per cent. In 2023, the recovery in Delhi stood at 14.5 per cent, 15.4 points less than the national rate of 29.9 per cent.