Law enforcement in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
India has numerous law enforcement agencies. At the federal Union level, the agencies are part of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and support the states in their duties.
Since the federal nature of the Constitution of India mandates law and order as a subject of the state, therefore the bulk of the police lies with respective States and union territories. Bigger cities also operate metropolitan police, also under the state. All senior police officers in the state police as well as in the Indian federal agencies are members of the Indian Police Service (IPS).
[edit] Federal police
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Fedaral police is controlled by Central government of India. Prime Minister of India and his cabinet members control this police. Home minister and Defense minister hold most of the following forces. The head of each listed department is always an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.
[edit] Border Security Force
The Border Security Force is responsible for guarding India's land borders during peacetime and preventing trans-border crimes. It is a central paramilitary force operating under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 demonstrated the inadequacies of the existing border management system and led to the formation of the Border Security Force as a unified central agency with the specific mandate of guarding India's international boundaries. The BSF's paramilitary capabilities were used in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 against Pakistani forces in areas where the Indian Armed Forces was thinly spread; BSF troops took part in the Battle of Longewala.
Although originally charged with guarding India's external boundaries, the BSF has more recently been given the task of aiding the Indian Army in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. When the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir broke out in 1989, the Jammu and Kashmir state police and the thinly-deployed Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) struggled to cope with the spiraling violence, and the Indian government deployed the BSF to Jammu and Kashmir to combat Islamic militants.
[edit] Central Bureau of Investigations
The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI)is India's premier investigating agency, responsible for a wide variety of criminal and national security matters. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941. The Central Bureau of Investigation is controlled by the Department of Personnel and Training in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension of the Union Government usually headed by a Union Minister who reports directly to the Prime Minister. It is India’s official Interpol unit. The CBI draws its officers from the best IPS officers around the country. It is responsible for various crimes and national security. The agency specialises in investigating crimes involving high ranking government officials and politicians.
[edit] Central Industrial Security Force
The Central Industrial Security Force are used to guard industrial installations around the country owned by the Central government as well as securing Seaports and Airport.
[edit] Central Reserve Police Force
Central Reserve Police Force or CRPF, headed by a Director General is one of the largest and most elite paramilitary organisations in the world. Its main objective is to assist and help state and union territories' law enforcement agencies in maintaining law and order and to contain insurgency. It is also deployed as anti terrorist unit in various parts.
[edit] Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is an intelligence-based organisation responsible the co-ordination of India's anti-smuggling efforts.
[edit] Indo-Tibetan Border Police
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police are a paramilitary force for security along the Indo-Tibetan Border, covering 2115 km. The ITBP is trained in mountaineering, disaster management, and nuclear, biological and chemical disasters. ITBP personnel have been deployed abroad to UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and elsewhere.
[edit] National Investigation Agency
National Investigation Agency or NIA is the central agency to combat terror in India. The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states. The National Investigation Agency Bill 2008 to create the agency was moved in Parliament by Union Home Minister on 16 December 2008.[1][2][3] NIA was created after the Nov 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised. It also deals with drug trafficking and currency counterfeiting.
[edit] National Security Guards
The National Security Guards (NSG) is a commando unit originally created for counter-terrorism and hostage rescue missions. Raised in 1986, it is popularly known as the Black Cats for the uniform worn by its operators. Like most military and elite security units in India, it is rather media-shy and the general Indian public is largely unaware of its capabilities and operational details.
The NSG draws its members from the Indian Army and various central police units. It is India's premier counter-terror outfit and is typically deployed in situations that would be beyond the capabilities of regular police units. An NSG team with a dedicated transport aircraft is always stationed at Palam airport in New Delhi, ready to deploy in 30 minutes.
The NSG has also been increasingly tasked with protection of VIP's. This role has expanded in recent years, as several politicians have come to view NSG protection as a status symbol. This has caused some concern among senior NSG officers and Home Ministry officials.
[edit] Railway Protection Force
The Railway Protection Force {RPF} is used to guard the Indian Railways. They maintain discipline on platforms as well as travel inside trains to keep passengers secure. Railway accidents are also handled by them.
[edit] Special Protection Group
The Special Protection Group (SPG) is the executive protection agency of the Government of India. It is responsible for the protection of the Prime Minister of India, other top officials, and their immediate families. The force was established in 1985 after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
[edit] Narcotics Control Bureau
The NCB is responsible for anti narcotic operations all over the country. It checks the spread of the contraband as well as the cultivation of drugs.
[edit] National Police
[edit] State Police
Each state has a state police force, headed by the DGP (Director General of Police). It is controlled by Chief minister and Home minister of respective states. The state police is responsible for maintaining law and order in townships of the state and the rural areas. Top police officers are the Directors General, Inspectors General of Police (IGP) who look after various departments of the police, such as law and order, training, intelligence, technical services, etc., report to the DGP.
- Some state forces are organized into Police Ranges, headed by a Deputy Inspector General of Police, which controls several Police Districts.
- The Police District is the fulcrum of State Police activity and each Police district of the state is headed by a Superintendent of Police.
- The Police District is divided into Police Sub-Divisions and will be under the command of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.SP a state police officer) or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP an Indian Police Service Officer).
- The Police Sub Division would be having one or more Police Circles, and would be under the command of an Inspector of Police often referred to as the Circle Inspector (CI).
- Under the Police Circles are the police stations, generally under the control of a Sub-Inspector or SI. As per the various Indian laws, Sub Inspector (and above) are the only officers who can file a charge sheet in the court. Officers below this rank, do not have very much authority.
Each state police force also maintains its own Armed Police force (known as Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) in the state of Uttar Pradesh, as state 'Special Police' in some states and 'Armed Police' in others) which is responsible for emergencies and crowd control issues. They are generally activated only on orders from the deputy inspector general and higher-level authorities. Armed constabulary are not usually in contact with the public until they are assigned to VIP duty or assigned to maintain order during fairs, festivals, athletic events, elections, and natural disasters. They may also be sent to quell outbreaks of student or labor unrest, organized crime, and communal riots; to maintain key guard posts; and to participate in antiterrorist operations. Depending on the type of assignment, the Armed Police force may carry only lathis or lethal weapons.
[edit] Metropolitan police
In addition to the state police, major cities have their own police forces. The chief of Metropolitan Police is the Police Commissioner. Reporting to the Police Commissioner are the Joint Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner of Police.
According to laws in individual states the metropolitan police may or may not be subordinate to the state police. Delhi Police, Mumbai Police, Chennai Police and other police agencies in major cities are under control of Central Government.
[edit] Traffic Police
Highway Police and Traffic Police in the small towns comes under State Police but Traffic Police in the cities comes under Metropolitan Police. Traffic Police in responsible for the smooth function of traffic and stopping offenders in the city or town while Highway Police in responsible for securing the highways and for catching speeding offenders.
[edit] Selection and training
The recruitment process for various levels of the police force differ. The education requirements increase with recruitments for higher posts. The Superintendents of Police (SP) are recruited every year by the UPSC (a wing of the central government) by an extremely competitive exam and are appointed into the Indian Police Service (IPS). The IPS officers are then assigned to a state force. Superintendents of Police undergo a rigorous training for 44 weeks. The training is for brawn and brain, and the training programme also involves external invitees such as eminent lawyers and management consultants. At the end of probation, they undergo an orientation training of few weeks at the assigned state's police academy.
The other levels of police force is selected by state or the central government and are trained ate Police Recruit Schools. The duration for inspectors is roughly a year, and for constables is nearly 9 months. The training staff for these schools is drawn from the police department itself.
[edit] Transport
Unlike in many other countries, the various state police forces in India extensively use SUVs. The Mahindra Legend Jeep used to be the most common police car in India. In recent years, other SUVs have been employed by the police, such as the Maruti Gypsy, Mahindra Bolero, Tata Sumo, Tata Safari, Maruti Versa, Chevrolet Tavera and Toyota Qualis. SUVs are known for their capabilities to move around in any sort of terrain. MUVs are used by police in cities including metros like Delhi and Mumbai where Chevrolet Tavera and Toyota Qualis are extensively used. Though most cities use SUVs and MUVs some cities like Chennai have adopted sedans like Hyundai Accent
Depending upon the state, the police vehicles may have individual revolving lights (strobes) or light bars, sirens etc. An extensive modernisation drive has ensured that these vehicles are equipped with wireless sets in communication with a central control room. Highway Police vehicles generally also have equipment like speed radars, breath analysers and emergency first aid kits.
For traffic regulation and patrolling in cities, motorcycles are also used. Most of them are the Indian version of Royal Enfield Bullet. Of late, other motorcycles like the Bajaj Pulsar have also started being used by the police forces. This is because of increasing congestion in cities where the heavier Bullets would prove to be unwieldy when compared to the nimbler handling the newer bikes were capable of. The bikes are provided with two-way radios, strobes and sirens & are generally painted white.
Color schemes of police vehicles vary according to the state they belong to.
[edit] Weapons and equipment
The weapons and equipments issued vary from state to state and agency to agency. The standard equipment for a constable on their beat is the lathi (a 6 to 8-foot (2.4 m) long cane tipped with a metal blunt) which is generally made of bamboo. This is also his device for personal safety. Indian police officers generally do not carry firearms when on regular duty. However firearms are always available at police stations. These include .303 Lee Enfield rifles and 7.62 1A Self Loading Rifles. Some special units in the state and federal level police forces may also have additional automatic weapons such as AK 47 assault rifles and Bren guns. Officers of and above the rank of Sub-Inspector are authorized to carry a sidearm, generally a 9mm Browning pistol.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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