Status of Policing in India Report (SPIR) 2026
Why in News?
The Status of Policing in India Report (SPIR) 2026, titled "Cybercrime—Victim Perspectives and Systemic Responses", was jointly published on September 24, 2026, by the non-profit organization Common Cause and Lokniti-CSDS.
Survey Methodology & Scope
- Sample Size: The survey gathered data from 8,306 citizens across 16 Indian States.
- Core Objective: To understand what happens after a victim decides to complain, what factors drive police responsiveness, and the systemic preparedness of banks and state police forces.
Victim Behaviour and Barriers to Reporting
- The Complaint Gap: Only 49% of cybercrime victims formally approach the police.
- Procedural Fatigue: About 39% of victims never complain or completely abandon the legal process due to low police responsiveness, complex paperwork, and repeated station visits.
- Perception of Safety: Paradoxically, a significant share of cybercrime victims are individuals who consciously perceive digital payment modes to be safer than cash, underestimating social engineering tactics.
- Social Engineering: Perpetrators rely aggressively on psychological manipulation and deception to win the trust of victims.
Prevalence of Bribery and Influence
- The Cost of Redressal: Among the victims who successfully registered a complaint, 27% had to pay a bribe to get law enforcement to act on their case.
- The Influence Dynamic: Marginalised demographics—specifically women, poor citizens, and rural victims—depend the most on informal networks or persons of influence to get their First Information Reports (FIRs) filed.
- Low FIR Registration: Out of every 15 victims who approach the police (either online or in-person), only 6 manage to get an FIR registered. Out of those six, multiple instances required intervention by influential external entities.
Systemic Hurdles & Infrastructure Gaps
- Local Cyber Forensics Deficiency: Ground-level, local police stations lack dedicated forensic specialists and automated digital triage tools, leading to a critical loss of the initial "golden hour" recovery window.
- Inter-Jurisdictional Red Tape: Because cyber frauds routinely cross state or national borders, local police face severe coordination bottlenecks when dealing with out-of-state telecom providers and financial entities.
- Poor Bank and Police Cooperation: Despite central mandates directing banks and state agencies to work in tandem, institutional coordination remains poor, severely aggravating the financial distress of victims.
