-The Indian Express Low crime rate numbers often don’t mean citizens are safer, and ‘rape capital’ and ‘crime capital’ could both be unfair assessments. In reports such as the one published by the National Crime Records Bureau last week, the quality of Data is important, as is its placement in the right context. New Delhi: “It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts...

-The Pioneer Is Odisha in the grip of climate change adversity? This looks apparent when for last three consecutive years, i.e., 2015 to 2017, the State keeps recording a condition of excessive to mildly dry even during the monsoon period of June to September. Moreover, the State has recorded wet conditions only during the cyclone or heavy flood years during the period 2009-2017. Sample this: According to the available Data with Met...

-The Indian Express Overall, 2016 saw a far higher number of people (35) dying during lathicharges across the country than in 2015 (7). However, the NCRB Data also shows that a large number of policemen were injured during these incidents of lathicharge. Almost twice as many people died of injuries inflicted by non-lethal weapons used by police and paramilitary forces in J&K in 2016 than by bullets, according to the latest...

-Down to Earth States exploit the delay in the drafting of rules for the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act to assert rights over land claimed by communities under the Forest Rights Act More than a year after Parliament passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016 (CAF), the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is yet to roll out the mandatory rules to implement it. In fact, the ministry in November...

-The Hindu The increase in crimes against women must prompt better policing and all-round reform The National Crime Records Bureau Data for 2016 on two important aspects, violent crime and crime against women, should prompt State governments to make a serious study of the underlying causes. Not all States are equally affected; Uttar Pradesh and Bihar record the maximum number of murders. The national tally on crimes against women, which includes rape,...