Introduction

In the field of administration, police have an important role to play. The word ‘police’ is
derived from the Greek word “Politeia” or its Latin equivalent “Politeia” which broadly
means citizenship, state or the administration of the government. The word police therefore
means a system of government or the power of the state. In the modern usage the word police
came to be used to refer to an agency of the state to maintain security and peace and to
enforce the criminal law. Police force has always been an indispensable part of the state
organization in almost all civil society of the world. Since ancient times there has been some
agency all over the world to apprehend criminals and produce them before the king or the
officers having judicial powers. The King also had his own spies to collect intelligence and
information for running the state and for the better administration of the state. However with
the progress of the civilization and development of knowledge the dimension of the police
work has increased many folds. With the advancement of the society complexity of the police
job has increased in many folds.

In India, Police is the coercive arm of the State, which is entrusted to perform the basic duty
of the State that is maintenance of law and order. Therefore, law and order administration has
acquired significance at the Central, State, Range, District and Sub-District level in rural and
urban areas. Rapid growth of population, industrialisation, urbanisation, qrowing political
consciousness. led to law-and-order problems. Agrarian and tribal revolts, political caste and
communal violence, labour and student unrest and terrorism are indications of law-and-order
problems. In all societies, particularly in developing societies, these conflicts and tensions are
inevitable and many manifest in different forms. Freedom and independence will not have
meant unless these basic issues are properly attended. In this Unit, an attempt will be made to
study the organisation of police at various levels; and critical issues that confront the Police
Administration.

An organization is a set of personnel working collectively to achieve a common objective.

Organization is both a structure as well as an activity to activate that structure. The structure
of the organization sets the tone and trajectory of the functioning of any agency. Therefore, it
will be worthwhile to analyze the organizational structure of police in India and in the states
of India so as to understand the functioning and effect on the state machinery along with
efficacy in maintaining law and order.

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Origin and a brief History
The history of the development of the police organization dates back to ancient times which
finds mention in the ancient Greek, Roman ,Chienese and Indian texts.. The Indian Historical
reference of ancient times also have numerous mention of police system be it Mahabharata,
Ramayana, Manusanhitta or the various religious or secular texts of Gupta dynasty, Maurya
dynasty and Mughals.1

Manu talked about the prevention and detection 'of crime and also a system of collecting
intelligence during the vedic period. Vedas refer to different kinds of crimes and punishments
for the criminals. During the Mauryan and Gupta periods, policing was undertaken
systematically. Kautilya's Artha-shastra gives a vivid picture of the nature of police
organisation and their functions. During Mughal period, law and order administration was
under the charge of Fauzdars. They were assisted by Thanedars who were in charge of Police
Stations. He was also responsible for revenue functions. The office of the Kotwal was fairly
important, as he was the chief of city police. His functions included patrolling the city at
night, collection of intelligence, prevention of crime and social abuses and regulation of jails.
During the British period, the police system that existed under the Mughals was allowed to
continue with certain reforms to meet the changing needs.2

The present Indian police system is based on the Police Act of 1861. Under this act the police
was made subordinate to the Executive Government. Later, several changes were brought
about in the structure as well as functioning of the police system. But the basic structure and
characteristics as enshrined in the police act of 1861 continued to dominate over the police
system in the country. By the time India attained independence in 1947, the Police
Administration had developed into one of the best systems. After independence, the
Government of India felt that the system was capable of facing new challenges and was also
well developed to help the new Government to maintain stability. This Police Act gives each
State Government the power to establish of its own police force 3. In addition to this Act, other
legislations like, Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.) were also
made to regulate the police operations. The nature of the organizational structure of any
police is by and large decided by the public policy of the state, or more particularly the
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Section 2, Police Act 1861

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policies of rulers. The police structure was so built, which was meant to act as, an “efficient
instrument for the prevention and detection of crime”.4

Organizational Set-up of Police in

India
Police forces are usually organized and funded by some level of government. The level of
government responsible for policing varies from place to place, and may be at the national,
regional or local level. In some places there may be multiple police forces operating in the
same area, with different ones having jurisdiction according to the type of crime or other
circumstances. For example, in the UK policing is primarily the responsibility of a regional
police force; however specialist units exist at the national level. In the US policing there is
typically a state police force, but a municipality may have its own police force. National
police agencies also have jurisdiction over serious crimes or those with an interstate
component.5

Article 246 (entry 2, List 11, Seventh Schedule) of the Indian Constitution enumerates
police as a state subject. Police Administration, therefore, is a state responsibility. This does
not, however, minimise the role of Central Government in Police Administration. The
Constitution itself enumerates a long list of subjects like All India Services, preventive
detention, arms, ammunition, passports etc. in the union list. The Central Government's role
in Police Administration is related to making laws on subjects included in Union and
Concurrent lists and making amendments to the basic police laws like Indian Penal Code, the
Code of Criminal Procedure, Evidence Act, etc. Administration of the States, policing the
Union Territories, management of Indian Police Service, matters relating to arms and
ammunition are also the responsibility of the Central Government. The Ministry of Home
Affairs and the Department of Personnel plays the administrative and coordinating role. In
maintenance of law and order, whenever required, the Central Government provides aid and
assistance to the States. To discharge this function, the Central Government maintains a
network of line and staff units all over the country.

4
Preamble of the Police Act, 1861
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 The Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Railway Protection Force,
Central Industrial Security Force are some of the reserve units. Similarly Central Forensic
Institutes, Police Wireless and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Police Academy are the staff units at
the Central level. These apart, there are Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Central
Intelligence Bureau (CBI) also to aid the Central Government. These agencies, under the
control of the Central Government provide assistance to the State Police Organisation in the
fields of law - and order, security and administration of justice in the country. Rules and
regulations have been formulated for the operation of these agencies in the States. There are
occasions when these rules are violated leading to tensions between the Central and State
Governments.

At the State level, the Police Administration is more or less uniform throughout the
country.

 The Chief Minister or Home Minister is largely responsible for policy and
supervisory functions.
 The Home Department coordinates and supervises the Police Administration
in the State. It acts as a link between Central and State Governments.
 The Inspector General of Police (IGP) or the Director General of Police (DGP)
who is the Head of the State Police undertakes the real work. His office is
called the Office of the IGP/DGP popularly called Chief Office. This office
collects information and feeds it to the Government; advises political decision-
makers like the cabinet and the ministers; supervises and controls line
agencies. It organises training and acts as a clearinghouse of special police
services.
 The IGP/DGP aids and advises the Government and exercises general
supervision and control over the police department. He exercises
administrative, personnel, and financial power. He provides leadership to the
Police Administration in the State. He is assisted in his duties of IGP by the
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) and Superintendents of Police
(SPs) and other staff. They Head the specialised branches like intelligence
department, crime branch, transport department, training, armed forces,
general administration, law and order etc.

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 The organisation of police will become more evident by the following chart.

Director General of Police (DGP)

↓
Additional Director General of Police (Addl. DGP)
↓
Inspector General of Police (IG)
↓
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Dy. IG)
↓
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)
↓
Superintendent of Police (SP)
↓
Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl. SP)
↓
Assistant/ Deputy Superintendent of Police (ASP/ DSP)
↓
Inspector of Police (Insp.)
↓
Sub-Inspector of Police (SI)
↓
Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (ASI)
↓
Police Head Constable (HC)
↓
Police Constable

The police set up in India is essentially divided into following broad categories:-

1. The general police which looks after the general police work and assist in crime
investigation, detection crime control and it’s also involved in lawand order
maintenance and enforcement of law.
2. The special arm force are paramilitary force which are there to assist the general
police in maintaining the law and order and performing specialize duties like border
securities large scale riots, election duties, VIP and Industrial security, disaster relief
and general public order maintenance.

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 3. Apart from these to basic categorization there are specialized police services which
take care of particular policing jobs like –
a. Railway police
b. Intelligence Police agencies
c. Traffic police
d. Women Police
e. Border Security Police
f. Specialized Investigative Police Agencies
g. Armed Reserves
h. Specialized Security Agencies

The above category exists at state level as well as at the central level. The following is the
chart which mentions the different police organization in India and their geographical
jurisdiction.

General Roles of the Police

Officials
Director General of Police (DGP): For the overall direction and supervision of the police
force, the State Government appoints a Director General of Police, who exercises power,
performs functions and duties, and has responsibility and authority as is prescribed. The
Director General of Police is the Chief of the PHQ and has the senior most position in the
hierarchy of the Police Force of the State and no other officer senior or equivalent in rank to
the incumbent Director General of Police is posted to any position within the police
organization to ensure that the unity of command is maintained at all times. However, there is
no restriction on appointment of an officer of the rank of Director General outside the State
Police organization/force.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP): Additional Director General of Police

(ADGP) is a high ranking police officer in Indian States & Union Territories. All ADGPs are
Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and are in above super time scale (HAG) (pay-band-4)
grade. The equivalent position or designation in the state government(s) or Government of
India (GOI) of Additional Director General of Police is as Commissioner of Police (city),

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Special or Additional Director (GOI), Special or Additional Secretary (R), Cabinet Secretariat
(GOI).

Inspector General of Police (IGP): The Inspector General of Police is a two-star rank
officer and one of the senior most officers in the state police forces which usually head the
police force in each city. All Inspector Generals are Indian Police Service (short form IPS)
officers. They are in some states the commissioner of police for the city, that is, they head a
police force for a particular city.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG): An Officer of the rank of Deputy Inspector
General of Police heads each Police Range. He supervises the police administration of the
Range field formations i.e. police districts, circles, police stations and other police units under
his charge. He reports directly to the Zonal Inspector General of Police.

Superintendent of Police (SP): The administration of the police throughout districts vests in
an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police. For an effective and efficient
administration of the Police District, the Superintendent of Police, assisted by as many
Additional, Assistant and Deputy Superintendents are deemed necessary.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP): Deputy Superintendents are state police officers
who belong to the provincial police forces, either direct entrants at that rank or promoted
from inspector. DSPs who are members of the provincial forces (equivalent rank deputy
superintendents) are equal in every way to IPS (equivalent rank assistant superintendent of
police) although paid slightly less and fill the same positions (sub divisional police officer).
Deputy Superintendents of Police who show potential could be promoted to the I.P.S after
some limited years of service which varies from 8 to 15 years depending on the state.

Inspector of Police: An inspector is a non-gazetted police officer ranking above a Sub-

Inspector and below a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP). In the Rural areas Inspectors
generally have jurisdictions over more than one police station (generally under a Sub-
Inspector of Police). However, in many cities, Inspectors would be the Station House Officer
(SHO) at every police station. The rank insignia for a Police Inspector is three stars, and a red
and blue striped ribbon at the outer edge of the shoulder straps. In rural areas where an
inspector is in charge of a police circle (consisting more than one police station) he is also
referred to as "Circle Inspector".

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Sub-Inspector of Police (SI): A sub-inspector (SI) is generally in command of a police
station (with head constables, the equivalent of corporals, commanding police outposts). He
is the lowest ranked officer who under Indian Police rules and regulations can file a charge
sheet in court, and is usually the first investigating officer. Officers subordinate to him cannot
file charge sheets, but can only investigate cases on his behalf.

Structurization in Police Force

Till a few years ago, an officer of the rank of Inspector-General of Police headed each force.
The level was upgraded to Director-General mainly to widen the career prospects of IPS
officers and, incidentally, to take into account the greater responsibility thrust on the higher
echelons in the context of heightened political and social tensions. At the bottom of the
pyramid is the Police Constable (PC), who constitutes the 'cutting edge' of the force. Between
him and the DGP, there are nine levels of officers.

Police Headquarters- Each state has a police head quarter at the apex of the police
administration which is headed by the DGP who looks after the administration of the police
force of the entire state. The Police headquarters is constituted of several specialized police
departments which look after different specific functions of police by supervising and
controlling district police set up which is ultimately the functional outlet of the police work
the various police dept. or branches at the headquarters are generally headed by one
Additional Director General of police . There are generally following branches 6

1. Criminal investigation department

2. Intelligence
3. Railway
4. Administration
5. Training
6. Special armed force
7. Provisioning and planning
8. Telecommunication
9. Complaints
10. Special crime record bureau or computer

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 District Police Administration Each state is divided into a number of districts for
convenient civil administration. The head of the District Police Force is the
Superintendent of Police (SP) who is accountable to the District Collector in matters of
preservation of peace and control of crime. The SP controls a large number of police
stations (PS) - the lowest formation of the local police machinery. Each station is headed
by a Station House Officer (SHO) who could be of any rank, but is invariably a Sub-
Inspector (SI) in a rural area, andan Inspector or Deputy Superintendent (DSP) in a town.
The extent of geographical area covered by each police station varies from state to state.
The SHO is in charge of the administration of the Police station, the operation of their
staff, and other duties relating to detection, investigation, and prevention of offences.
Under the Police Act of 1861, other officers of a higher rank than the SHO may exercise
the same powers as an SHO within their local area of appointment. Each State has its own
hierarchy and nomenclature. Some States employ the Police Commissioner System, while
others use the traditional Directorate System described above7.

Police Station The word ' Police Station' means 'any post or place declared generally or
specially by the State Government, to be Police Station, and includes any local area
specified by the State Government in this behalf.’ 8 A Police Station is the nodal office of
the Police through which the Police Department carries out its statutory duties of
prevention and detection of crime and maintenance of law and order and all other allied
functions within the ambit of these two broad categories of work. Additionally, it serves
as a 24- hour, 365 days a year contact point for victims of crime or more correctly,
interface point between police and public. As per the Criminal Justice System existing in
India, legal powers to initiate any action against crime is dependent upon the place of
occurrence of the incident. Hence for any Police Station to exercise any legal action, the
crime should have occurred in an area, which should have been notified as the area of
jurisdiction of that Police Station.9 Further, the State Govt. and not the Director General
of Police exercises this power of notification.

Rural and Urban Police The diverse nature of social and economic organization and the
geographical lay out of urban places as compare to the rural ones results in diversity of
police functions and organization in rural areas as compare to urban areas. The massive
urban expansion has created greater challenges before police organizations in different
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Section 2 (s) of CrPC 1973
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 states. The Indian Police act of 1861 basically caters to the rural life as majority of
population at that time was living in villages. The functions and the organizational
structure of police station are diverse in rural areas as compared to urban areas. While
there is no division of work in rural police station, in the essentially urban ones, work is
distributed among three distinct sections, viz, law and order, crime and traffic. Law and
order personnel handle all matters concerning preservation of public peace such as
patrolling, mob control, etc. Those constituting the crime section investigate all offences
listed in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and special enactments. The traffic section looks
after the regulation of vehicular traffic in public places. Apart from manning specific
points at road intersections, its personnel in some states, also handle investigation of road
accidents. Police stations in the big cities have a much smaller area to cover, as compared
to their rural or small town counterparts. 10

Police Commissionerate A distinctive feature of the Indian Police is the

Commissionerate system that prevails in major cities. Before Independence, this was
available only in the three Presidency towns of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Gradually,
this has been extended to several others, including the nation’s capital, New Delhi. This
system provides for a greater freedom to the police from the Executive Magistrate in the
matter of crowd control and issue of licenses, such as those required for buying arms and
running cinema houses and hotels. In a typical Commissionerate, the Commissioner
(normally of the rank Additional DGP in major cities and IGP/DIG in the smaller ones) is
assisted by one Additional and several Joint Commissioners, each of whom looks after a
geographical area or a specific function, such as law and order, crime, traffic, etc. In the
Police Commissioner system, a senior experienced and a mature police officer is directly
in charge of policing and has complete authority over his force and is functionally
autonomous. He is directly accountable to the Government. Under the system, the public
has not to run to two different authorities i.e. District Magistrate and Superintendent of
Police, to process their application for licenses, permits etc. This avoids delay and
inconvenience to public. The conferment of magisterial powers on Police Commissioner
brings efficiency in prevention and detection of crime and maintenance of law and order
in major cities.11

10
Bureau of Police Research & Development, Research Studies Compendium 1970-2006. BPR&D New Delhi
2006.
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The Armed Police The civilian police system in India has basically two divisions. The
general police functions are performed by the district force or the general civilian police.
There is a provision of having a special armed group in each state which is generally
called the Special Armed Force which is available for handling grave incidents which
threaten public peace and require professional and which handling. The special armed
reserve is available for this purpose at the headquarters of each districts under the
operational control of SP. The special arm reserves are well trained to cater to jobs
demanding extreme physical fitness and mental toughness. There are situations when
even the armed reserve at the district headquarter may be insufficient. It is tackle such
really serious public order problems that there is the provision of keeping special armed
reserves in every state at the disposal of the Director General. The special armed reserves
are organized into a number of battalions headed by a Commandant who is of the rank of
SP.

The Criminal Investigation Department A special group of investigators called the

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is available at every state police headquarters to
take the investigation of grave occurrences, such as a political murder, large scale rights,
bank robbery involving large sum of money or theft of precious art etc. This wing is also
used for conducting inquiries into allegation of misconduct by police personal and other
police agencies.

The Intelligence Wing Every government requires an agency that keeps track of the
activities of anti-social and anti-national elements, who aim at fomenting disaffection
against the lawfully constituted government and disrupting normal life. Also needed is a
facility to monitor public opinion or the performance of the government so that quick
corrective action is initiated to prevent a breakdown of law andorder or economic
stability. This twin role is fulfilled by the Intelligence branch at district and state levels. It
is sensitive group, which has to be manned by personnel proven integrity and ability for
collecting information in an unobtrusive manner. On matters of mutual interest, such as
terrorism, VIP security, religious feud, the State Intelligence coordinates with the
Intelligence Bureau (IB) of the central government.

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Significance of Police
Organizational Structure
1. Strengths of the Organizational Set-up:

i. The hierarchical nature ensures that orders can be quickly passed from the
highest levels of government down to the field officers, especially in
emergencies.

ii. The structure has internal checks and balances, including departmental
inquiries and oversight bodies like the National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC), that theoretically ensure accountability for police misconduct.

iii. The creation of specialized wings such as cybercrime cells, anti-terror squads,
and narcotics divisions reflects a modernization of policing to address new-age
crimes.

2. Challenges and Criticisms:

i. The top-down hierarchical structure continues to reflect its colonial past,

focusing more on control than public service. This has resulted in a disconnect
between the police and the community, leading to mistrust.

ii. The chain of command is often compromised by undue political interference,

affecting the impartiality and independence of the force.

iii. Despite mechanisms for oversight, there is a significant lack of transparency in

police operations, leading to frequent allegations of human rights abuses,
custodial deaths, and corruption.

iv. The centralized command structure can lead to inefficiency in responding to

local issues, as state or national-level officers may be unaware of or distant
from the nuances of local crime and public concerns.

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Reforms and Recommendations
To address the above challenges, numerous committees, including the National Police
Commission (1977-1981) and the Soli Sorabjee Committee (2005), have proposed
reforms aimed at modernizing the police organization in India. Some of the key
recommendations include12:

1. Decentralization of Police Powers: States should be allowed to exercise greater

autonomy over their police forces to respond to local concerns more efficiently.

2. Introduction of Community Policing Models: Policemen need to act as community

facilitators rather than enforcers of the law. This requires changes in training,
recruitment, and organizational ethos.

3. Technology Integration: The police must be equipped with modern technological

tools to tackle cybercrime, financial fraud, and other new-age offenses. This requires a
well-funded and well-staffed specialized cybercrime unit.

4. Independence from Political Interference: The police must be insulated from undue
political influence, and officers must be given the independence to act impartially,
with mechanisms that ensure political neutrality in appointments and transfers.

5. Improved Training and Resources: There is an urgent need for enhanced training
that emphasizes human rights, ethics, and community engagement alongside modern
policing techniques. Additionally, adequate resources in terms of staff, equipment, and
welfare must be provided.

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Conclusion
In modern context police can be defined as an organization that is an agency of government
to enforce various laws, maintain public peace, order and security, control traffic, provide
security to the citizens, protect the individual's rights as per constitution , specially provide
security to the weaker sections of the society and maintain order in the society. Police have to
act as an intelligence agency, collecting intelligence for internal security and criminal
intelligence for crime prevention, crime detection, and crime control. As a part of criminal
justice system police has to investigate criminal cases and bring criminals before the court of
law for justice. The police have to perform multi furious duties, functions and roles in a
civilized society forming a major arm of governance.

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