Cause–effect analysis on law and order: incidents of atrocities against women have risen sharply while police have been unable to nab the culprits — determine the correct causal direction between these two statements
Verbal Reasoning
Cause and Effect
Difficulty: Medium
Choose an option
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AStatement I is the cause and statement II is its effect
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BStatement II is the cause and statement I is its effect
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CBoth the statements I and II are independent causes
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DBoth the statements I and II are effects of independent causes
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EBoth the statements I and II are effects of some common cause
Answer
Correct Answer: Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect
Explanation
Given data
- I: Incidents of atrocities against women have increased in recent months.
- II: Police have been unable to nab the culprits committing these crimes.
Concept/Approach
Impunity effect: failure to catch offenders can embolden repeat offenses and new offenders, increasing crime incidence.
Step-by-step reasoning1) Police inability to apprehend (II) → lower deterrence.2) Lower deterrence → higher frequency of offenses (I).
Verification/Alternative
I causing II would imply high crime made police unable; but the statement highlights inability as ongoing, which more naturally precedes or fuels rise.
Common pitfalls
- Reversing causal direction due to temporal correlation.
Final AnswerStatement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.