C Pradeep Kumar
Vijayawada
There was a significant reduction in the number of crimes across Andhra Pradesh in 2022 — a drop of more than 53,000 cases compared to the previous year. The number of murders and rioting cases also reduced significantly during the year. On the other hand, conviction rate in POCSO cases and crimes against women increased by six fold. As many as 2,92,565 cases were registered in 2020, and number dropped to 2,84,753 in 2021. However, 2022 saw a significant decrease of 53,000 cases; 2,31,359 cases were registered this year.
According to DGP K Rajendranath Reddy, visible policing, awareness programmes, efficient management of women police services and invocation of PD Act against those brewing attacks paved the way for reduction in the number of crimes across the State.
Strict implementation of the Disha Act, geo-mapping of crime-prone areas, monitoring of women police, etc., have reduced violent crimes against women. In contrast, crimes related to family violence have increased to some extent. As many as 1,255 cases of human violation were registered in 2020 and 1,456 cases in 2021. The number dropped to 1,419 in 2022. Similarly, dowry murders, suicide abetments, kidnappings and dowry deaths have also decreased. As many as 7,039 cases related to harassment of women were registered in 2020 and 10,373 cases in 2021. There were 11,895 such cases in 2022. The DGP said that more cases had been reported due to outreach programmes.
More cybercrime cases were registered in 2022. The number of cases registered in 2020 was 2,122, while 2,039 cases were filed in 2021 and 2,783 in 2022. The Andhra Pradesh Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (A4C) will conduct awareness programmes and form cyber and social media cells soon to reduce cybercrimes.
Road accidents came down compared to previous years. In 2021, 19,203 road accidents occurred while 18,739 accidents occurred in 2022. The DGP said that identification and rectification of black spots, identifying accident times and increasing police vigilance and enforcement at those times, identifying the roads where accidents are occurring and taking appropriate measures and continuous self-monitoring by SPs resulted in a significant reduction in accidents. The number of deaths in road accidents has also reduced significantly.
Bodily offences have come down slightly compared to previous years. In 2020, there were 846 murders, 945 in 2021, and 857 in 2022. Similarly, 551 cases of rioting were registered in 2020, 562 cases of rioting were registered in 2021, and 442 cases of rioting were registered in 2022.
Burglary cases reported in 2022 are roughly the same as in 2021. Which are 4093 in 2021 and 4242 in 2022. DGP said that re-organizing beats, continuous monitoring, use of technology, surveillance of criminals released from prison, coordination with neighbouring states, and matching of fingerprints of suspects will be implemented more effectively to reduce the cases. In 2022, the detection and recovery rates of criminals have increased significantly.
Crimes against SC/STs have come down through village visits, identification and surveillance of crime-prone areas, government initiatives, district review meetings and strict action against criminals. In 2020, 156 cases were registered, 231 in 2021, and 205 cases of human violation were registered in 2022. Similarly, 505 hurt cases were registered in 2020, 606 hurt cases were registered in 2021, and 585 hurt cases were registered in 2022.
An action plan to prevent ganja smuggling in 2023 will be readied soon. “We will focus on policy initiatives on ganja cultivation, transportation, control and availability as well as supply network to schools and colleges in the state”, DGP asserted. Around 2.45 lakh kilos of ganja was destroyed by the police in 2022.
