Indore has witnessed a significant decline in major criminal activities in 2025, according to the annual police data. However, this positive trend is accompanied by persistent challenges in traffic management and a growing threat from digital offences.
Sharp Decline in Property and Violent Crimes
The data reveals a substantial improvement in law and order. Overall property crimes, including burglary, theft, and street snatching, plummeted by 47% compared to 2023 and 15% against 2024. Housebreaking and theft cases alone fell 45% from 2023. Police successfully recovered property worth over Rs 6.66 crore, achieving a recovery rate of approximately 61%.
Crimes involving bodily harm also showed a downward trend. While murder cases saw a marginal increase to 65, attempt-to-murder cases dropped by 15%. Combined, murder and attempt-to-murder cases fell 10% year-on-year. Notably, police ensured detection in every murder case. A critical insight was that about three-quarters of murder incidents involved acquaintances or relatives, highlighting the dominance of interpersonal disputes.
Emerging Challenges: Cybercrime and Traffic
Despite the overall decline, new areas of concern have emerged. Cybercrime has become a major focus, with Police Commissioner Santosh Kumar Singh stating that offences targeting households are often highly organised, complicating investigations. To combat this, the force is training 4 to 6 officers in each zone specifically to handle cyber cases.
Traffic policing remains one of the toughest challenges. Commissioner Singh emphasised that the system rests on three pillars: traffic engineering, education, and enforcement. While police handle education and enforcement, engineering interventions require coordination with other civic agencies. Efforts are ongoing to strengthen resources and improve public outreach to encourage voluntary compliance with traffic rules.
Vehicle theft also persisted as a problem, with 3,056 cases reported—a slight increase from the previous year. Areas like the stretch around Abhay Prashal were identified as hotspots. In response, police are implementing measures like improved CCTV coverage, better street lighting, and deploying guards with community support after discussions with local traders and residents.
Crimes Against Women and Police Reforms
The data on crimes against women presented a mixed picture. There was a continued fall in molestation cases for the second straight year, and rape cases declined sharply from 388 in 2024 to 247 in 2025. Kidnapping numbers also dipped. However, cases of cruelty by husbands or in-laws showed a slight rise, and police recorded more cases linked to relationships formed under the promise of marriage.
On the operational front, Commissioner Singh detailed reforms to make policing more responsive. "Policing at the station level has been fine-tuned to make the system more transparent and accountable," he said. In stations with higher crime volumes, two Inspectors-in-Charge were posted to ensure responsibility is shared and there is no delay in registering cases. The city has also rolled out preventive programmes including drone-based patrolling, predictive policing analytics, mohalla meetings, mediation centres, women safety patrols, and AI-based cyber awareness chatbots.
The annual report underscores a city where traditional crime is being effectively contained, but where law enforcement must continuously adapt to tackle evolving domestic, digital, and civic challenges.
