PANAJI
Goa police is claiming a dramatic turnaround in the State’s criminal justice record, stating its conviction rate has more than doubled from 22% to 53% following the implementation of the three new criminal laws and the extensive use of the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS).
But the department’s own crime records tell a considerably more complicated story -- one in which convictions remained below 6% of detected cases in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
The sharp discrepancy has raised a basic question: what exactly is being measured in the police department’s much-publicised 53% conviction rate? This figure also comes nearly seven months after the department cited a 70% conviction rate.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday applauded Goa Police over a 30-percentage-point jump in the conviction rate, declaring it had risen from 23% to 53% since the implementation of the new criminal laws.
Earlier on Sunday, the 53% figure was cited by Director General of Police Alok Kumar during a meeting chaired by Shah to review the implementation of the three new criminal laws. Yet the picture that now emerges from the department’s crime data is markedly different when convictions are compared with cases detected.
In 2023, Goa recorded 67 convictions against 881 detected cases, translating into a conviction-to-detected-case ratio of 7.60%. In 2024, the figure was 70 convictions against 951 detected cases or 7.30%. The ratio fell further in 2025, with 61 convictions recorded against 949 detected cases - 6.43%. The acquittal rate, reportedly, during the last five years stood at 77% approx. The figures are significant because the period includes the transition to the new criminal laws, which came into force in July 2024. The offence-wise figures also do not suggest a sweeping improvement in convictions immediately after the new laws came into force. There were no convictions in murder and attempt-to-murder cases in 2024, the year the new laws were implemented in Goa. The zero-conviction record for both offences continued into 2025. There was also no conviction recorded for robbery in 2025.
Ironically, no departmental inquiry has been initiated against any investigating officer who failed to secure conviction. Government's assembly reply itself stated this. "During the last five years, no departmental enquiry has been initiated against any Investigating Officer on account of adverse findings received from the Court for defective investigation. However, during the review of acquittal cases by the Standing Committee, if any case resulted in acquittal due to lapses on the part of Investigating Officer, a Show Cause Notice is issued and an explanation is obtained from the concerned Investigating officer," it said.
