AP police take to AI VijayASTraM; overall crime falls by 5.7% in 2024
Vijayawada: AP director general of police Ch. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, releasing the annual crime report for 2024 on Saturday, highlighted the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) for smart policing.
He said, “Andhra Pradesh will use AI – VijayASTraM all over the state through smartpolice.ai to supervise traffic management, send real-time alerts, perform predictive analysis and ensure dynamic police deployment. AI is already being implemented in Vijayawada and giving good results.”
Further, artificial intelligence tools will help investigating officers ensure language compatibility, file incident summary, incorporate sections of law, learn forensic tips, formulate prosecution guidelines, and vet chargesheets.
The DGP said although the overall crime rate in the state has decreased by 5.7 per cent this year, cybercrimes have seen a slight increase. 92,094 cases of crimes have been reported in 2024, compared to 97,760 in 2023.
He explained that this decline has reflected in several key areas, including crimes against women and children (– 9.5 per cent), crimes against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (–5 per cent) and road accidents (– 5 per cent). He said despite the overall positive trend, the number of women killed in crimes has increased from 40 in 2023 to 49 in 2024, a rise of 22.5 per cent.
Further, Tirumala Rao said cybercrimes have witnessed a sharp rise of 34 per cent, from 682 in 2023 to 916 in 2024. Financial losses in such crimes surged from ₹173 crore in 2023 to a staggering ₹1,229 crore in 2024. However, police succeeded in freezing ₹225 crore of the stolen funds.
Comparatively, cheating cases declined 18 per cent, from 7,581 in 2023 to 6,233 in 2024. NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) cases saw a slight increase of 3 per cent.
The DGP said use of drones for crowd management and law enforcement has more than doubled, with 1,376 deployments compared to 713 in 2023. The reinstated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) played a crucial role in solving 453 property offences and 22 bodily offences, leading to the recovery of property worth ₹7.25 crore.
He pointed out that AP police have played a vital role in disaster management, evacuating 14,188 people, rescuing 260, and recovering eight bodies during the Vijayawada floods.
Tirumala Rao said police department sanctioned ₹20 crore for various welfare schemes. It cleared long-pending promotions of 189 individuals.
Looking forward to 2025, The DGP outlined ambitious plans. These include expanding the CCTV network across the state, establishing dedicated cyber police stations to combat the growing threat of online crimes, utilising technology like AI-based tools, such as VijayASTraM, for real-time alerts and predictive policing, increasing police mobility, and establishing a Police Martyrs Memorial at the CRDA premises.
