A representative image of a street in Bengaluru.
Credit: iStock Photo
Street crimes declined significantly and the number of violent crimes like murder remained largely stable in Bengaluru in 2025 when compared with the two preceding years, which police believe will be a sustaining trend.
According to the city police data analysed by DH, in the last year, robbery cases declined by 47 per cent, chain snatching by 53 per cent, dacoity by 21 per cent and motor vehicle thefts by 19 per cent.
Murder cases remained more or less stagnant. In 2025, the city saw 191 murder cases, a marginal rise from 185 in 2024 and a slight decline from 217 in 2023.
Investigators attribute the decline in street crimes to improved deterrence methods.
“Compared with earlier years, the Hoysala patrolling system is currently very strong. In the last three to four years, the crime data has been analysed systematically. The placement of Hoysala vehicles has undergone refinement and is placed close to hotspot areas based on time and nature of crime,” C Vamsi Krishna, Joint Commissioner of Police (West Bengaluru), told DH.
“Based on the time, crime and location, the data is analysed over a period of time and the software will give us suggestions at the Command Centre. Patrolling vehicles are deployed in such a manner that the response time is kept as minimum as possible,” he added.
A senior Bengaluru police officer said that improved CCTV coverage in the city, along with geotagging of all public-facing surveillance cameras for better access and coverage, has been acting as a deterrent, especially for street crimes. DH had reported previously that till May 2025, the city police had geotagged over 5.35 lakh cameras to the Mobile Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (MCCTNS).
“This exercise is continuing as and when new CCTV cameras are installed in public spaces. Our analysis suggests that this, including the active Hoysala patrolling, has proven to be a key deterrent to street crimes, especially chain snatching and motor vehicle thefts,” the officer said.
Concerning murders in the city, police officers said that violent murders originating from gang wars are more or less non-existent. Murder for gains and murders resulting from dacoity attempts have also declined, officers say. “However, murders arising out of passion, family and civil dispute, which are personal in nature, exist as they happen spontaneously. These cannot be generalised. The data shows that over a period of three or four years, the number of murders more or less remains the same. However, during the same period, the city’s population would have definitely increased. This shows there is a declining trend in murders,” another senior Bengaluru police officer, with expertise in homicide investigations,
said.