AP Sees Sharp Drop in Alcohol Offences; Drug and Arms Violations Rise

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh recorded a decline in alcohol-related crimes in 2023, but there has been a surge in cases related to narcotics, weapons and state secrets violations.

This is a highlight of the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.

The state registered 15,387 cases under Special and Local Laws (SLL) in 2023, with alcohol-related offenses showing the most dramatic improvement. Prohibition Act violations dropped by 823 cases from 8,199 in 2022 to 7,376 last year. Similarly, Excise Act breaches declined from 5,112 to 4,775 and Liquor Act violations fell from 1,910 to 1,731.

However, the statistics reveal troubling trends in several other categories. Cases under the narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances act increased from 915 in 2022 to 989 in 2023, the highest figure recorded over the past three years.

Official secrets act breaches jumped from 47 to 63 cases, marking a three-year peak, while arms act violations edged up from 27 to 29. Forest-related offences also showed a steady growth, rising from 34 to 42 cases.

The overall SLL-linked crime rate in Andhra Pradesh showed consistent improvement over the three-year period. Total cases stood at 42,588 in 2021, dropped 14 per cent to 36,737 in 2022, and declined further by 17 per cent to 30,426 in 2023.

Alcohol-related violations continue to dominate the state's SLL crime profile, accounting for approximately 90 per cent of all such offences in 2023. The three alcohol-related categories ---Prohibition Act, Excise Act and Liquor Act-- collectively netted 13,882 cases.

Financial law violations remained relatively modest in 2023. Cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act plummeted 32 per cent from 111 to 76, while Chit Funds Act violations remained steady at 5 cases. The Mines and Minerals Act breaches decreased from 203 to 183, railway-related offences dropped from 44 to 38, and Foreigners/Passports Act-related cases fell from 3 to 2.

Information Technology Act violations, though numerically small at 8 cases, have nearly tripled since 2021 when only 3 cases were recorded. Explosives Acts breaches also showed an upward trajectory, increasing from 18 in 2022 to 21 in 2023.

The rates of rule violations in several crime categories remained largely unchanged, including offences against the state (2 cases), Unlawful Activities Prevention Act violations (1 case), Chit Funds Act breaches (5 cases) and COTPA tobacco control violations (2 cases)—all matching the previous year’s levels.

2023 Special and Local Laws (SLL) crime data, ranked from highest to lowest:

- Uttar Pradesh - 5,27,212 cases

- Maharashtra—3,15,971 cases

- Gujarat—2,56,805 cases

- Kerala - 54,330 cases

- Punjab- 47,225 cases

- Telangana- 31,685 cases

- Andhra Pradesh—30,426 30,426 cases