The Hyderabad city police on Thursday released its annual roundup of crime in the city under its jurisdiction, and said that crimes had decreased by around 3% in 2019.
Speaking to reporters, Hyderabad city police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said that the number of cases registered in 2019 was 15,598 as against 16,084 in 2018.
In crimes related to property, the police said that there was a 2% reduction as 2019 witnessed 2,474 cases, compared to 2,524 cases reported in 2018.
"The overall property lost is worth Rs 26,40,85,533, which is much less than 2018. Moreover, the recovery percentage is 61%," the police said.
Law enforcement authorities said that the city also saw a 30% reduction in chain snatching offences as only 14 cases were reported this year, compared to 20 last year.
Speaking about reduction in the crime rate, the Police Commissioner attributed it to the invoking of the Preventive Detention (PD) Act against notorious repeat offenders, a continuous criminal tracking system, intensive patrolling by patrol cars, regular cordon and search operations and installation of CCTV cameras.
The police revealed that the city now had a total of 3,31,938 CCTV cameras.
The police also said that they were able to increase their conviction rate to 42%, with 2,092 cases where the accused were convicted, and 4,947 cases which were disposed.
The police said that they witnessed an increase in automobile thefts, which had gone up by 17% this year, with a total of 779 cases as against 661 in 2018.
"There was a 3% reduction in the number of murder cases. There were 76 murders in 2019, while there were 78 murders in 2018," Commissioner Anjani Kumar told reporters.
Crimes against women
As far as crimes against women was concerned, the police said that no significant change was seen as 2,305 cases were reported in 2019, compared to 2,286 in 2018.
However, there were 19 dowry deaths in 2019, as against 17 in 2018, which meant an increase of 11%.
While the police said that there was a reduction in the number of rape cases being filed at police stations, with 150 being registered in 2019, against 178 in 2018 -- the Bharosa Centres, an initiative by the state government and SHE teams, saw 110 cases being reported, against 70 last year.
POCSO cases saw an increase with 329 reported cases in 2019, against 305 in 2018.
The number of cases registered under 'Outrage to modesty of woman' also saw a 21% increase in 2019 with 454 cases, after seeing a 7% decline in 2018 with 373 cases.
Addressing the gathering, Shikha Goel, Addlitional Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad City (Crimes & SIT) said that 93% of missing cases of women were traced.
"The use of PD Act has worked as a deterrent. It has instilled fear in inter-state criminals that they would get put in jail. This year, we have focused on getting a higher conviction rate, which acts as a deterrent as criminals fear that they would get convicted in Hyderabad," Shikha said.
SHE teams, a programme meant exclusively to address violence against women, received 1,286 complaints and registered over 100 petty cases.
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