Visakhapatnam: Crime rate drops in city

Visakhapatnam: Compared to the previous year, offences have come down by 21 per cent during 2020 in the city, City Police Commissioner Manish Kumar Sinha said.

Sharing details of the annual crime report here on Wednesday, the CP attributed to visible policing and effective initiatives for the overall drop of 14 per cent in crime rate in the city.

The CP said special attention was paid on protecting women against crimes and controlling anti-social activities in the city.

According to the statistics, Disha police station received 1,594 petitions this year. Of them, 604 agreed for compromise and 217 petitioners registered FIRs under Domestic Violence and Dowry Prohibition Act. Patrolling was taken up across the beach road to check illegal activities of eve-teasers which yielded improved results in the prevention of crimes against women, said Manish Kumar Sinha. Compared to the previous year, the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) registered more number of cases against illegal sand transportation along with ganja, gutka and smuggling of red sanders.

In all, 153 cases were registered against the violators who transported sand illegally and involved in stocking sand.

Under NDPS Act in 2020, 63 cannabis cases were registered, 176 people were arrested and 3,022-kg of cannabis worth Rs 75 lakh was seized. The CP said community beat system, youth-centric initiatives and intense awareness drives focusing on various issues aided in maintaining law and order in the city to a large extent.