What are the different Indian Police ranks?

Indian Police Ranks And Insignia

In India, law enforcement is a state-run operation. As a result, policing structures differ from one state to the next. Indian police ranks, posts, and designations differ from state to state. However, there is a broad pattern that may be seen.

Ministry of Home Affairs and their structure

The Ministry of Home Affairs is the regulating authority for the Indian Police Service and is responsible for both internal and exterior security and policing. MHA's administrative head, the Home Secretary, is an IAS official with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. The Seven Central Armed Police Forces are under the ministry's control. The IPS officers in their state are assigned to the state's home ministry.

IPS officers and their journey

The Indian Police Service is a professional body of police personnel, not a law enforcement agency. There are two ways for police officers to join the IPS and ascend the Indian police ranks.

Regular recruits: IPS applicants can apply at the federal level by taking the Union Public Service Commission's national test; if they pass, they are awarded the probationary rank of assistant superintendent and are sent to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy for further training. Officers retain the title of assistant superintendent and wear three silver stars as insignia for a year after completing their training, following which they are promoted to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and assigned to the cadre to which they were assigned after training in the academy.

State-level selection: Candidates for State Police Service (SPS) gazetted officers may take a state-level test, which is administered by the different State Public Service Commissions. Successful candidates are members of their state police cadre are gazetted with the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. State police service officers may be nominated to join the IPS at this level or, if they achieve further promotions, at the rank of Superintendent of Police, after a period of satisfactory service. Officers in the State Police Service do not change ranks when they are promoted to IPS. In general, State Police Officers are paid more at the same rank than their IPS colleagues, but IPS officers are promoted in a shorter period of time than their SPS counterparts. When an SPS officer is promoted to an IPS officer, his compensation is usually reduced because the IPS equivalent with a rank like SP is usually paid less.

State Police forces and their structure

If the district head is an SSP, the unit is usually led by a Superintendent of Police and has a lower grade pay than the district head. The Home Department of each state government is in charge of the state police force. An IAS officer with the post of Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary to State Government is usually the administrative head of a state's Home Department. Many states, however, choose IPS officers as Home Secretaries. An IPS officer with the rank of Director General of Police leads each state police force. Director General of Police is the title given to the leader of a state police force, who is aided by one to many Additional or Special DGPs. Each Additional/Special DGP is in charge of a division of the state police (Law & Order, Crime, etc.). Maharashtra Police, Tamil Nadu Police, and Uttar Pradesh Police are some of the largest state police forces in the country. Zones, ranges, and commissionerates are the most common police divisions. Even big police forces, such as the Bihar Police, lack Police Commissionerates. Smaller state police forces, such as the Andaman and Nicobar Police or the Arunachal Pradesh Police, are often organised only into ranges; however, this division structure varies from force to force. An official with the rank of Additional DGP or Inspector General of Police leads each range or zone. Commissionerates typically cover major cities such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and others. Each commissionerate has its own police force, which is led by a Commissioner of Police who is an IPS officer (CP). The Commissioner of Police can be an Additional DGP, ADGP, or IGP, but he or she can also be a DIGP. The Commissioner of Police has the authority of an executive magistrate and acts in that capacity. One to several Joint Commissioners of Police, who normally have the rank of IGP, assist the Commissioner of Police (or Deputy IGP). Each is in charge of a bureau (Law and Order, Crime, etc.), which mirrors the state police's overall structure. The following is a typical organisation of Indian police ranks below the JCPs:

• Region: An IPS Additional Commissioner of Police (Addl. CP) with the rank of DIGP leads the team. IPS or SPS officers may be listed as Gazetted Officers below the level of DIGP.

• Zone: Each region is organised into zones, each of which is led by an Additional Director General of Police (ADG) or an Inspector General of Police (IG).

• Division: A zone typically has one to two divisions, each led by a Director of the Inspector General of Police (DIGP).

Outside of commissionerates, the general structure is as follows:

• Zone: Headed by an IPS officer in the rank of ADG or IG

• Range: Headed by an IPS officer in the rank of IG or DIG

• District: Headed by a Senior Superintendent or a Superintendent of Police.

• Sub Division: An officer with the rank of DSP or ASP leads a sub division. This is referred to as SDPO (Sub Divisional Police Officer). There are a few circles under the Sub division in several states. In certain states, a DSP is in command of the Circle, whereas in others, such as Assam, an Inspector is in charge.

• Police Station: A non-gazetted police officer is in charge. One police station in a city may be overseen by an Inspector or Sub-inspector. They have been assigned to the positions of Station House Officer and Station Officer, respectively. Several sub-inspectors (SI) or assistant sub-inspectors (ASI) and other low-ranking officials report to the Inspector or sub-inspector.

District Superintendents or Senior Superintendents of Police, on the other hand, do not have the powers of an executive magistrate; instead, the District Magistrate, who is an IAS officer, exercises these authorities in Districts, such as promulgating Section 144 and awarding arms permits.

PSIs, or police sub-inspectors, are the first officers to file a charge sheet and often head police stations in rural districts or police outposts or substations; in cities, they work out of a police station and administer beats (chowkies). Assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs), who may also be in charge of chowkies, help sub-inspectors, and head constables (senior constables) lead teams of constables.

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