Need attitude change to reduce rape cases where accused is known to victim: Amulya Patnaik

Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik today called for a change in attitude and mindset for reducing incidents of rape in which the accused is known to the victim.

According to the statistics shared by the Delhi Police, out of the 2,155 rape cases reported in 2016, only 3.57 per cent involved strangers. This percentage saw a slight decline in 2017 with 3.36 per cent of the 2146 cases involving strangers as accused.

Between January 1 and February 28 this year, 309 rape cases have been reported and 2.27 per cent of those involve strangers.

"We have been taking a number of measures. The percentage of strangers committing crimes like rape going down is a welcome change. It's a trend which is indicative of women safety measures taken by the police making an impact on the ground," he told PTI on the occasion of the International Women's Day.
 

He expressed concern about the fact that in most of the cases, the crimes are happening either inside the home or in the neighbourhood.

"To reduce such incidents (where accused is known to the victim), one needs more of attitudinal change and a change in the mindset," he said.

The officer also stressed that they were making efforts to increase the presence of women police personnel in areas where the footfall of women is higher. He also said that are working on a project to induct women into the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, that is involved in anti-terror operations.

"That is also a project which we are working on and we will ensure that it sees a logical end," he said.

Dependra Pathak, chief spokesperson, Delhi Police, said that efforts were made to increase the interface between the women police personnel and the public.

There were women beat officers, women on bikes, women on bicycles and 10 all-women PCR vans.

"What the Delhi Police has done in the last one year is that we have increased the women police boots on ground. We have also given a vibrant IT platform for women to contact police," Pathak said.