HYDERABAD: Hyderabad has seen a dip in the overall crime rate from 25,187 cases registered in 2019 to 20,012 cases in 2021. Hyderabad city commissioner Anjani Kumar during the annual crime roundup said the number of crimes reported in the city is much less compared to other major cities in the country including South Indian cities like Chennai and Bengaluru. The event was held on the Gibraltar rock in Hussain Sagar Lake, where the world's tallest monolith of Gautama Buddha is also erected.
The decrease in the crime rate is attributed to the detaining of repeat offenders under the PD act, constant monitoring of criminals and improved patrolling, in addition to the use of technology and CCTV cameras.
Anjani Kumar said there is a significant decrease in bodily and property offenses. Even in terms of grave offences like murder and attempt to murder cases, Hyderabad city is safer compared to other cities, including those having much lower population, he said.
The top priority for 2020 for city police would be building a stronger relation with the community, a detailed analysis of the community needs at every level and addressing them, with professional and institutional support. "Training to the personnel will also focus on addressing the community needs, with different types of inputs for different areas in the city. Further new recruits to the department would be mentored by senior officers in the department, with each of them having a group of around 25 personnel, guiding them on all aspects of policing,” Anjani Kumar said.
Group excellence would be given priority over individual excellence. E-learning and e-modules would be brought in all police stations covering all functional verticals and also each wing would develop their respective e-modules for improving their performance, he said.
Further, the conviction rate has also increased from 23 percent to 49 percent and some major convictions were awarded particularly in POCSO cases.
There has been a slight increase in crimes against women. In 95 percent of rape and sexual harassment cases, the offenders are persons known to the victims including friends and those with whom they are in a relationship. Only seven cases were of an offender being a stranger to the victim. Cybercrime cases have also seen an increase and new cases of cheating by instant micro loan apps have been registered recently.
Before the event, the commissioner along with all police officers and media persons offered condolences to police personnel and media persons who lost their lives due to the COVID pandemic.