Overall crime rate dips by 3% in Hyderabad in 2019

Hyderabad, which witnessed the shocking rape and murder of a young woman veterinarian, saw a 3% drop in overall crime rate in 2019, a top police official said on Thursday.

"The overall crime rate reduced by 3% in Hyderabad city during 2019 with the number of cases registered during this year decreasing to 15,598 as against 16,084 cases reported in 2018," Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar told reporters here. The number of rape cases slumped by 16% in 2019 to 150 cases from 178 reported last year.

However, crimes against women witnessed a slight increase with 2,305 cases reported this year as against 2,286 in 2018while kidnapping cases went down by 14%.

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He attributed the decrease in crime rate to measures including initiation of Preventive Detention (PD) Act, continuous criminal tracking system, intensive patrolling of patrol cars and blue colts, undertaking regular cordon and search operations and installation of community CCTVs.

On traffic enforcement, a total of 49,75,876 cases were booked this year under relevant provisions of the MV Act and other Acts as against 44,34,003 last year.

Drunk driving cases increased to 27,737 this year compared to 26,856 cases, Kumar said. On the initiatives for 2020, the top police official said the Hyderabad Police will adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) based integrated safe city solution.

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With the focus on empowering citizens, Hyderabad Police will start registering petty cases and FIRs through its patrol officers from next year so that the petitioners need not go to police stations, he said.

Progress of investigation of cases and petition enquiries will be intimated to the complainants by SHO/Reception Officers regularly, he said. The Hyderabad Police Chief further said all police stations in the city will have a cyber wing and facilities for registration of cases and for detection of simple cases regarding cyber technology. Over 1,400 cybercrime cases were registered in the city this year.

Reacting to a query on permission for organising anti and pro-CAA events in the city, Kumar said permission has been granted for holding public meeting indoors.

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"Protests, rallies on the road cannot be allowed in view of heavy traffic and permission will be granted to any political party which is conducting meetings in their office premises", he said.

To another query on Maoist activities in the Telangana, Kumar said there was no Maoist presence in the state, though the movement of ultras was reported in areas bordering Chattisgarh and Maharashtra.