Drone power drives North Andhra police to track 1,500 cases across five districts
Visakhapatnam: Police in the North Andhra region are increasingly turning to drone technology and artificial intelligence to enhance crime prevention and law enforcement. Across the five districts — Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR), and Anakapalli, drone surveillance has led to the registration of approximately 1,500 cases, with women officers taking the lead as trained drone pilots.
Visakhapatnam is set to become the first district in Andhra Pradesh to implement AI technology for traffic management under a pilot project.
In Srikakulam, drones have helped avert 30 incidents of eve-teasing, verify 1,050 locations, and register 917 cases, including five Ganja-related offences, 225 open-drinking violations, 49 gambling activities, and 638 traffic violations—leading to 1,272 arrests.
“We currently have three drones in operation and are acquiring 15 more for various policing functions,” said Srikakulam SP K.V. Maheswar Reddy.
In Vizianagaram, 448 drone operations have been conducted across 712 beat areas, resulting in 48 cases related to gambling, drunk driving, and traffic violations.
“We have three drones and have trained 36 personnel, with plans to train more,” said SP Vakul Zindal.
Visakhapatnam city police commissioner Sankhabrata Bagchi said, “We currently have seven drones and plan to procure around 50 more. With 2,700 police personnel in the district, our goal is to train all officers in drone operations so that each station has at least two drones.”
He added that 30 to 40 officers are being trained daily and that drones are already being deployed at traffic signals to detect violations.
In Anakapalli, police have registered 279 cases through drone surveillance, including 131 open-drinking cases, 43 public nuisance complaints, 4 eve-teasing incidents, 88 traffic violations, 5 drug-related cases, and 8 other offences.
“We started with three drones and have added 13 more. In the first phase, we trained 35 officers—mostly women—and another 35 will begin training on Monday,” said SP Tuhin Sinha.
ASR district police have used drone surveys to combat illegal Ganja cultivation. SP Amit Bardar said surveys were conducted in 274 villages covering 16,870 acres, resulting in the identification and destruction of 93.01 acres of Ganja over 1,220 flight hours, with 79 related cases registered.
“We have five drones in operation. Eight personnel have been trained for these tasks,” Bardar added.
