Visakhapatnam sees significant drop in crimes

Visakhapatnam: Through adoption of technology-driven policing, City Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi on Tuesday announced a notable decline in crime across Visakhapatnam.

Presenting the annual crime report at a press conference here on Tuesday, the City Police Commissioner attributed the achievement to extensive use of drones, CCTV surveillance, and proactive law enforcement measures.

Sharing details, the CP said law and order cases have reduced by 20 percent, while overall crime registered a 12 per cent reduction compared to last year. Significantly, attacks on women have dropped by 22 per cent over the past three years, and cases of sexual offences against children have also seen a steady decline, reflecting improved public safety and effective policing.

Cybercrime management emerged as a major success as the police resolved 1,020 cybercrime cases and recovered Rs.56 lakh, which was returned to 126 victims affected due to loan app scams. In theft-related cases, police recovered Rs.10.56 crore from 4,959 offences, restoring stolen property to rightful owners.

As part of its intensified drive against narcotics, the CP informed that the city police registered 40 cases related to ganja and seized 10.147 kg of marijuana and 19.2 litres of hashish oil during the year.

To strengthen surveillance and crime prevention, 13,000 CCTV cameras have been installed across the city with public participation, he mentioned. In addition, 15 drones have been actively monitoring sensitive locations, leading to the registration of 453 cases through drone-based enforcement.

Compared to last year, the Commissioner of Police noted an improved recovery rate of lost and stolen mobile phones. He highlighted a significant judicial outcome wherein one accused was awarded the death sentence in a case involving murders of six persons.

To curb criminal infiltration and illegal goods movement, two new police outposts were set up at Simhachalam and Duvvada, Shankhabrata Bagchi said.

Emphasising police welfare, the Commissioner said 2,576 police personnel were provided insurance coverage of worth Rs.30 lakh.

Road safety initiatives have also yielded positive results, with 1,182 road accidents recorded in 2024, marking a decline in the current year. Discussions are underway with the National Highways Authority to further strengthen preventive measures, the CP informed.

As part of traffic enforcement, the city police imposed Rs.17 crore worth of challans against the traffic violators.

About 1 lakh driving licences were also suspended for violations of MV Act, he added. In a social reform initiative, the city police took 200 beggars into care and shifted them to rehabilitation centres as part of efforts to make Visakhapatnam a begging-free city. Visakhapatnam Police received the prestigious ABCD Award for excellence in cybercrime resolution, emerging as the best-performing unit in the state.

Sharing future plans, the Commissioner announced that from April 1, Visakhapatnam will be transformed into an AI-based traffic control zone, leveraging advanced technology to further enhance safety, efficiency, and law enforcement across the city.