Beyond the beat: what policing looks like across Hyderabad
Spanning vastly different geographies but dealing with overlapping urban challenges, the tri-commissionerates of Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda, present a striking snapshot of law enforcement across the capital region.
Hyderabad commissionerate covers just about 650 square kilometres but is densely packed with over 68 lakh people. It operates with 71 law and order police stations, 31 traffic stations, and seven women police stations, supported by a police force of around 12,000 personnel. Surveillance in the city is aided by roughly 5 lakh CCTV cameras installed across key junctions, markets, and residential zones.
Cyberabad, on the other hand, is the largest of the three commissionerates by population, with nearly 95 lakh residents spread across 3,679.70 square kilometres. It is served by 42 law and order stations, 16 traffic stations, and one women police station. The total police personnel strength stands at 6,889. Surveillance efforts include 3 lakh CCTV cameras, of which 8,000 are government funded and directly monitored by the police. Many more are maintained under the Nenu Saitham initiative, contributed by residents, companies, and shop owners.
A senior officer from Cyberabad police said that digital crime dominates the crime chart in the area. 'The majority of crimes in Cyberabad are cybercrimes. This is a more literate population, students, tech workers, who use mobiles and have a lot of spare time, which fraudsters are exploiting. These people have the means, and more importantly, they come forward and report. There is no social stigma here, which is why the numbers are high.'
It is pertinent to mention that Cyberabad recorded 11,914 cyber crime cases in 2024, with the total losses reaching ₹793.18 crore. Overall, the tri-commissionerate saw citizens losing a combined ₹1,259 crore to cyber criminals across 20,414 cases in 2024.
Rachakonda covers the largest area, spread over 5,121 square kilometres. with a small population of just 42 lakh, and it operates with 47 law and order stations, 11 traffic stations, and three women police stations. The police force is roughly 7,000 strong. Surveillance is supported by approximately 2.25 lakh CCTV cameras.
Rachakonda is a unique blend of rural and urban landscape, saw 3,207 road accidents during 2024, in which 624 were fatal accidents and 2,583 were non-fatal. Police booked 9,505 cases of drunk driving and issued several thousand challans for lane violations and helmetless riding.
Together, the three commissionerates span over 9,400 square kilometres and serve more than two crore people. Each one reflects the unique policing needs of its geography, whether it is cyber fraud among tech-savvy residents, drug trafficking through expanding road corridors, or old-city law and order management.
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