AP prisons record lower occupancy than national average NCRB report

VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Pradesh prisons recorded an occupancy rate of 90.8 percent in 2024, significantly lower than the national average of 112.7 percent, according to NCRB’s prison statistics 2024. However, the occupancy rate in the central prisons remained higher (124.8 percent) than the national average of 118.3 percent. There were 4,698 inmates in central prisons against the available capacity of 3,764 inmates.Andhra Pradesh (central prisons, district jails, sub jails and others) prisons housed 7,861 inmates, including 404 female and six transgenders in 2024 against an authorized capacity of 8,659, with undertrials accounting for 72.6 percent (5,705) of the population and convicts (2,131) accounting for 27.1 percent, while 1,050 (49.3 percent of convicts) were serving life imprisonment and five were on death row.The data on terms of sentences showed that life imprisonment was the most common punishment among convicts in Andhra Pradesh. A total of two persons were awarded capital punishment in 2024, and one prisoner on death row sentence commuted to life imprisonment in 2024.A total of 129 inmates were serving sentences between 10 and 13 years. Another 156 convicts were serving terms between seven and nine years, and 166 were serving terms between five and six years.Among convicts, 1,922 were from Andhra Pradesh, 206 from other states, and 3 were foreign nationals. Among undertrials, 4,679 belonged to Andhra Pradesh, 1,024 were from other states, and two were foreign nationals.Andhra Pradesh’s central prisons continue to face overcrowding. Of the total inmate population, over 70 percent are undertrials, reflecting the prolonged pendency of criminal cases and slow judicial processes. More than 700 posts (30 percent of the sanctioned strength) remain vacant in the prison department, leading to various issues.Andhra Pradesh has four central prisons located in Vizag, Rajahmundry, Nellore and Kadapa and the four housed 1,828 convicts and 2,848 undertrials. The central prison in Vizag was designated to accommodate 914 inmates (convicts and remand prisoners), including 80 female prisoners. The current prisoner count stands at more than 150 percent, and most of the undertrials are under narcotics-related (cannabis) offences.