SPIR 2026: Bribery, Personal Networks Shape Cybercrime Redressal
SPIR 2026, based on a Lokniti-CSDS and Common Cause survey across 16 States, examines how bribery and personal networks affect cybercrime complaint redressal.
The Status of Policing in India Report (SPIR) 2026 has turned its attention to the pathways through which cybercrime complaints move towards resolution, examining two factors that enable progress in redressal: bribery and the use of personal networks.
Based on a survey conducted by Lokniti-CSDS and Common Cause across 16 States, the report finds that both channels are resorted to more frequently by victims from marginalised groups. The same groups also appear to benefit more from these channels when seeking action on their complaints.
The findings place the experience of cybercrime victims within a wider question of access — not merely whether a complaint is registered, but what it takes for it to move forward. Where formal processes stall, the report suggests, informal means such as paying a bribe or drawing on the influence of a personal contact become part of how redressal is pursued.
The survey's 16-State scope gives the findings a national dimension, covering a cross-section of India's policing landscape. By focusing on the two enabling factors rather than on complaint volumes alone, SPIR 2026 shifts attention to the conditions under which cybercrime grievances are actually addressed.
The report does not present these channels as exceptional; it records them as recurring features of the redressal process, and ones that operate unevenly across social groups.