In the last five years, the state government has taken serious action against crimes against women and children in a fair and impartial manner, Additional Principal Secretary (Home) Dheeraj Kumar said here on Thursday.
He was addressing a joint press conference at the Secretariat in Chennai along with Director General of Police/Chief of Police (In-Charge) G. Venkataraman, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Maheshwar Dayal and Commissioner of Police Greater Chennai A. Arun.
Mr. Kumar said that the number of crime cases reported in the last five years has seen a substantial decline in various heads of crime, including murder, robbery and rape.
The number of murders has come down from 1,597 in 2021 to 1,461 in 2025 and rapes from 422 in 2021 to 401 in 2025. However, Mr Kumar said a picture has been painted in the past few months that is contrary to reality.
Mr. Venkataraman said that regardless of the seriousness of the crimes, the police department encourages the public to report offenses. In addition, the police along with other departments are raising awareness about the POCSO Act in educational institutions and urging victims to report sexual offences.
He also said that due to increased awareness about the POCSO Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, more people are coming forward to register complaints, leading to an increase in the number of reported cases. He said the increase in such cases should not be portrayed negatively as it could discourage people from reporting crimes.
Mr. Dayal said the quality of investigations and emphasis on POCSO cases has led to an increase in the conviction rate. Mr Kumar said there was zero tolerance for custodial deaths. The government has taken swift action on the death of Ajith Kumar in the Thirupuvanam case and handed over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He said strict action would be taken in any incident in custody.
Asked if the absence of a permanent director general of police (law and order) in Tamil Nadu was related to the rise in crime, Mr. Kumar dismissed the fact as a bad correlation. He said the incumbent DGP (law and order) is functioning with all the powers vested in the post.
Published – 13 Mar 2026 0:13 IST
