LUCKNOW, Sept. 30 -- The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)'s "Crime in India 2023" report, while showing the sheer scale of the challenges faced by Uttar Pradesh, also contained a critical data point suggesting improved safety metrics relative to the state's massive population.

Despite recording the highest absolute number (66,381) of crimes against women in the country, analysts point out that Uttar Pradesh maintains a relatively low crime rate of around 58.6-the key metric for assessing risk to citizens. The crime rate is calculated as cases per 1,00,000 female population. The UP accounts for around 14.81% of crime against women reported from all across the country in absolute numbers (4,48,211).

According to the NCRB data, this cr...