VIJAYAWADA: The State registered 3.5 per cent decrease in crime rate in 2018 when compared to the figures in 2017. However, cases of harassment against women, rape, cybercrimes and economic offences are on the rise, according to the statistics released by the Director General of Police (DGP) RP Thakur here on Friday.
According to the Annual Crime Statistics-2018, 1.19 lakh cases of cognizable crimes were reported in 2018 as against 1.23 lakh cases in 2017, an average drop of 3.49 per cent.
Addressing the media, Thakur said they (police) succeeded in reducing property offenses such as murder for gain, dacoities, robberies and burglaries. The DGP said the number of cases of property recovery and detection saw an increase of 10 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. “The Railway police arrested a large number of inter-State gangs. After these arrests, the incidents of robbery have reduced,” said Thakur.
The DGP reiterated that AP stood among the top States in terms of maintaining Law and Order (L&O). However, the cases of economic offenses has registered a sudden spike of 30 per cent with 942 cases in 2018 as against 729 cases in 2017.
Though there was an overall decrease of 4.23 per cent in crime against women, cases of harassment and rape increased despite police launching various women safety initiatives. Incidents of cybercrimes increased by 25.67 per cent with 1,439 cases. As many as 609 POCSO Act cases were registered in 2018. As many as 323 people, including three minors, were rescued from trafficking gangs and 637 traffickers were arrested.
Expressing relief over the decrease in road accidents by 11.76 per cent and accidental deaths by 9.09 per cent, Thakur hailed the preventive measures taken by the State Road Safety Committee for the same.
“While East Godavari, Vijayawada city and Visakhapatnam city are the top three districts in road accidents, more people died in Guntur Rural, East Godavari and West Godavari in accidents,” he said.
When asked about goals and action plan for the new year, Thakur said 2019 would be a different year for the State police due to a large number of political meetings as part of the elections.
However, he expressed confidence that police will handle the situation effectively. “We are monitoring the activities of all anti-social elements. Patrolling will be intensified from January and the new police vehicles will increase the mobility. In addition to the existing 5,000 CCTV cameras, another 14,000 cameras are going to be installed at all problematic locations,” DGP Thakur explained.