The Uttar Pradesh Police (UP Police), (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ), is the primary

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...

agency within the

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

state of India. Established in 1863 as the Office of the Inspector General of Police, United Provinces under the ''Police Act, 1861''. It is headed by Director General of Police (DGP). Uttar Pradesh Police is one of the oldest police departments in the Republic of India, and is the largest police force in the world, having about 68 district police department (excluding 7 commissionerates) in it. The Uttar Pradesh Police is headquartered at Signature Building, Gomti Nagar Extension in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

which was earlier located in city of

Prayagraj Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the admini ...

The Uttar Pradesh Police employ around 1,368 gazetted officers, and 231,443 non gazetted uniformed officers. Uttar Pradesh Police is governed by the

Department of Home and Confidential The Department of Home and Confidential (IAST: ) or Home Department serves as the ministry of the interior of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. Responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the department makes de ...

of Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh Police is headed by the Director General of Police (DGP) for the state of

, who is the highest-ranking ( DG) IPS officer of the state cadre. UP Police is the first Indian state police agency to have a highway patrol Unit, the UP-Highway Police (UPHP).

History

The present police system in the country was created following the recommendation of the Police Commission headed by Mr. H.M. Court in 1860, which led to the enactment of the Police Act of 1861 that is in force even today. The same Mr. Court became the first Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the then North West Province and Avadh which comprised the territory of the present state of Uttar Pradesh. The Police structure was erected in the form of the following eight organizations: * Provincial Police * Government Railway Police * Municipal Police * Cantonment Police * Town Police * Rural and Road Police * Canal Police * Barkandaj Guard (to protect the courts) The Civil Police too continued to grow and Mr. B.N. Lahiri was the first Indian Inspector General of Police of Uttar Pradesh after independence. The performance of the state police in the spheres of Crime control and maintenance of law and order was highly appreciated, due to which it had the proud privilege of being the first police force in the country to receive the President's Color on 13 November 1952 by the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

. Various specialized wings of the U.P. police have since come into existence for combating organized crimes, economic offences, terrorism, etc.

Organization and structure

A Director General of Police (DGP) heads the state police. He is assisted by many police officers. State police headquarters is situated in

. For the purpose of maintaining law and order in the state, the state of Uttar Pradesh is divided into 8 police zones. Each zone is headed by an officer of the rank of additional director general of police who is an officer of the

Indian police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service ( ...

. Each police zone is constituted by 2 to 3 police ranges. There are a total of 18 police ranges in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Each range is headed by an officer of the rank of either

inspector general of police An Inspector General of Police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most se ...

deputy inspector general of police A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. India Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a ...

which corresponds with the administrative division. Each police range is constituted by around 2 to 4 districts.

District Police Units

There are a total of 68 District police units (headed by SP/SSP) and 7 Police Commissionerate (headed by CP) in the state. In each district (except all current 7 commissionerates), the head of the police is the SP or SSP. In the discharge of his duties, he is assisted by

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

(SP), Deputy Superintendent of Police (Deputy SP) or

Assistant Superintendent of Police Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held b ...

who may either be the officers of the Provincial Police Service or

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service ( ...

. The number of SPs and Deputy SPs varies with the size, population, police work, or nature of police work in different districts. The number of SPs and Dy.SPs in districts like

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dis ...

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The ...

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and ...

is considerably more than other districts. Whereas in smaller districts like Baghpat,

Kannauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...

Mahoba Mahoba is a city in Mahoba District of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the Bundelkhand region, well known for the ninth century granite Sun temple built in Pratihara style. It is also well known for the 24 rock-cut Jain tirthankara image ...

Chandauli Chandauli is a town and a nagar panchayat in Chandauli district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chandauli District. Geography Chandauli is located at . It has an average elevation of . It comes ...

the number of the PPS officers is relatively lesser. Typically, a police district in the state corresponds with the administrative district. Though, the head of the police force in the district is the

Senior Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territori ...

(SSP)/

Superintendent of police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

(SP), who is always an officer of the

, the ultimate/final responsibility with regard to the maintenance of the law and order in the district lies with the

district magistrate A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal revenu ...

who is an officer of the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services ...

. The police district is further subdivided into police sub-divisions or police circles. A police circle is usually headed by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or

. The officer heading the police circle/sub-division is designated as the

Circle Officer A Circle Officer (CO) or Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) is a police officer of the rank of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) or assistant commissioner of police (ACP) heading an independent police sub-division in the various states ...

(C.O.) in the state of Uttar Pradesh. A police circle is usually constituted by 2 to 4

police stations The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

. Each police station is headed by a

police inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

. Throughout the state of Uttar Pradesh and other states, especially in

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Cen ...

, there is the main police station in the older/ main part of the city known as the Kotwali. The Kotwali covers the main or usually the older part of the town/city under its jurisdiction. Earlier, when the cities and towns were smaller and had a lesser population than at present and they hadn't grown in size so much, Kotwali covered the main town area of the cities or the districts. A police station is also called as a

thana Thana means "police station" in South Asian countries, and can also mean the district controlled by a police station. * Thanas of Bangladesh, former subdistricts in the administrative geography of Bangladesh; later renamed ''upazila'' * in (Briti ...

in the local language. The officer in charge of a police station is designated as or called as the station officer (S.O.) or station house officer (S.H.O). He is assisted by various sub-inspectors, head-constables, constables. There are also a number of police chowkis that come under the police station. A police chowki is under the charge of a

sub-inspector Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police, is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which is primarily based on the British model. It was formerly used in most British col ...

of police. The regular constabulary carries the bulk of normal beat policing and patrolling.

Commissionerates

There are currently 7 police commissionerates under UP Police - In the police commissionerate system, the Commissioner of Police (CP) in the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) or Inspector General of Police (IGP) heads the district police department or commissionerate. In

Lucknow Police The Lucknow Police Commissionerate (Hindi: लखनऊ पुलिस आयुक्तालय) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of Lucknow, the capital and the largest city of Uttar Pradesh. It is a police unit of Uttar ...

, the CP is assisted by 2 Joint Commissioners of Police (JCPs) in the rank of IG, and in all other police commissionerates in UP, the commissioner is assisted by 2 Additional Commissioners (Addl. CPs) in the rank of DIG who look after Law and order while other looks into Crime & Headquarters. Under them, there is a team of IPS & PPS officers who are posted as DCPs and ACPs. Three DCPs are posted in a zone. One DCP's insignia is the state emblem above one star, who is senior to the other two DCPs, whose insignia is one state emblem only. Under the DCPs work ACPs, who are the chiefs of various circles. They are vested with the powers of the executive magistrate for criminal cases. Police Commissionerates are independent of zonal & range police chiefs' supervision. They are also vested with powers of an executive magistrate under various acts.

Ranks of law enforcement in Uttar Pradesh

;Gazetted Officers . ;Non-gazetted officers

Police Units

Zones, Ranges and districts

List of UP Police Chiefs

Technology

Facial recognition system

UP police uses a database of 500,000+ criminals with facial recognition technology in its "Trinetra" face identification system.

Social media research center

A social media command and research center has been established in Meerut. The center monitors trends in social media that can have an impact on law & order situation and advise concerned district and range police chiefs.

Firearms

Most of the weapons in service with the Uttar Pradesh Police are locally produced by the

Indian ordnance factories Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories, now known as Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) was an organisation, under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Gover ...

controlled by the

Ordnance Factories Board Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories, now known as Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) was an organisation, under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Gove ...

, the police also induct various weapons imported by the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

as part of modernization plans. HK MP5 noBG

As per the 2017 audit by the

Comptroller and Auditor General of India The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the supreme audit institution of India, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. They are empowered to audit all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the ...

, Uttar Pradesh Police has a shortage of 45,047 handguns and an excess of 56,298 rifles. 48%, 58,853, of the 1.22 lakh (122,000) rifles available to the state police are of point-303 bore category, which was rendered obsolete by the

in 1995.

Weapons of the UP Police also include: *

Baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conductin ...

Wooden standard issue weapons * IOF.32 Service

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that has at least one gun barrel, barrel and uses a revolving cylinder (firearms), cylinder containing multiple chamber (firearms), chambers (each holding a single ...

currently being phased out as standard issue sidearm *

Pistol Auto 9mm 1A The Pistol Auto 9mm 1A, also known as IOF 9mm pistol, is a semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Rifle Factory Ishapore. It's a licensed copy of the Browning Hi-Power, made using tooling acquired from John Inglis and Company. It is the main ...

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun ...

Standard Issue sidearm as service weapons to inspectors and higher ranks as well as to selected constables *

Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...

Sten Submachine gun The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cos ...

mostly replaced by 9mm SAF Carbine 1A1 * SAF Carbine 1A1

Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...

* Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III rifle

.303 British The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...

Ishapore 2A1 The Rifle 7.62mm 2A/2A1 (also known as the Ishapore 2A/2A1) is a 7.62×51mm NATO calibre bolt-action rifle adopted as a reserve arm by the Indian Armed Forces in 1963. The rifle is a variant of the Lee–Enfield rifle. The design of the rifle � ...

Rifle

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...

* 1A Self Loading Rifle

AK 47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...

7.62×39mm M43 *

INSAS INSAS or Indian Small Arms System is a family of infantry arms consisting of an assault rifle and a light machine gun (LMG). It was designed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment and manufactured by the Ordnance Factories Bo ...

Rifle 5.56×45mm NATO * OFB LMG

L4A1 variant *

Amogh carbine The Amogh Carbine (''Amogh'' means Unerring) is a select-fire personal defense weapon designed & manufactured by Ordnance Factories Board. It is a derivative of the Excalibur rifle, which in turn is a development of the INSAS rifle. The Amogh h ...

5.56×30mm MINSAS

Corruption and misconduct

The Uttar Pradesh Police has an extensive history of

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to ...

misconduct Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...

, and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

, as well as discrimination on the basis of

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...

and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

Corruption in hiring

In 2007, 18,000 police officers were fired as they were hired despite being unqualified for the job. These new recruits were illiterates who bribed between ₹100,000 and ₹500,000 to cheat in the UP police entrance tests.

Fake encounters

In 2018

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new on ...

carried out an investigative piece reporting incidents of UP police framing innocent people and killing them in staged encounters for money and promotions. A sub-inspector had allegedly offered to gun down an innocent civilian for around Rs 8 lakh. Between 2015–2018, 211 complaints of fake encounters were filed in India out of which 39 were on UP police. In 2012, 17 UP police personnel were given life term for killing an incontinent 24-year-old man in a 1992 fake encounter and later they branded the victim as a terrorist.

Others

In 2020, Uttar Pradesh government started an operation to screen allegedly corrupt police officials who will be forced to take retirement. In the 2020 Hathras gang rape and murder, UP Police forcibly cremated the body of the victim girl without the consent of her family. The station house officer was transferred for his "failure to promptly act" in the case.

In Indian culture

These law enforcement officers have been depicted in Indian cinema through various films. The

Dabangg ''Dabangg'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap and produced by Malaika Arora Khan and Arbaaz Khan under Arbaaz Khan Productions with Dhilin Mehta under Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. Kha ...

series of films starring

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

are an example of depiction of the UP Police

Notes

References

External links

* {{Uttar Pradesh State law enforcement agencies of India Uttar Pradesh Police 1861 establishments in British India Government agencies established in 1861