Preventive Detention Act slapped on 205 in Hyderabad this year

Hyderabad: City Police has invoked the Preventive Detention Act (PD Act) against 205 people in 2021.

Preventive detention is imprisonment that is putatively justified for non-punitive purposes, most often to prevent (further) criminal acts. Preventive detention, the practice of incarcerating accused individuals before trial on the assumption that their release would not be in the best interest of society—specifically, that they would be likely to commit additional crimes if they were released.

According to Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar, invoking PD Act against alleged criminals has helped in controlling the crime rate in the city

"Invoking PD Act against alleged criminals sends a clear message. Criminals fear that the act can be invoked against them also if they indulge in any crime," said Anjani Kumar.

The highest number of PD Act has been slapped on 62 drug offenders followed by rowdy sheeters (50), property offenders (39), Burglar (18), white-collar offenders (13), dacoits (10), snatchers (6), arms offenders (3), and sexual offenders (2).

Crimes in Hyderabad drop by 11% in 2021

Hyderabad: Overall crime rate in Hyderabad City has dropped by 11 percent in 2021.

During the annual press conference, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said 2021 statistics should be compared with 2019 owing to lockdown and its impact right through 2020.

"In 2020, for almost half a year, we were under certain kinds of restrictions. So our comparison of crime should be based on 2019 statistics," he said.

The overall crimes including the Indian Penal Code(IPC), Special and Local Laws(SLL), and other than IPC crimes registered during 2021 was 20,012 (up to December 15) compared to 25,187 in 2019.

In 2020, around 22,641 cases have been registered. IPC and SLL cases registered were 17,236 in 2021 compared to 17,187 in 2019.

Anjani Kumar said that bodily crimes dropped by 4 percent. Bodily crimes include murder, homicide, attempt to murder, grievous hurts, simple hurts, kidnapping, rioting, and cheating. Kumar said the number of cases registered during 2021 were 2,040 against 2,126 cases in 2019, showing around one percent decrease.

There was an increase of three percent in grave bodily crimes. Kumar said the number of cases registered during 2021 weres 428 against 387 cases in 2019.

He said property crimes decreased by 10 percent in 2021 compared to 2019. Property cases reported during 2021 were 2,417 compared to 2,694 cases in 2019. The overall property lost was worth Rs 21,36, 54,843, which was less than 2019.

Sixteen percent reduction was reported in grave property crimes in 2021 compared to 2019. The Commissioner said the number of cases registered during 2021 were 179 against 214 cases in 2019. He said a 10 percent reduction was reported in non-grave property crimes. The number of cases registered during 2021 were 2,238 as against 2,480 cases in 2019.

Crimes against women increased by two percent in 2021 compared to 2019. Kumar said that the number of cases registered during 2021 were 2393 against 2,354 cases in 2019.

Crimes against children (POSCO) cases increased by five percent in 2021 compared to 2019. Kumar said the number of cases registered during 2021 were 357 against 339 in 2019.