Commissioners of Police (also known as Police Commissioners) in India are IPS officers who head the police force in a police commissionerate. A police commissionerate can combine several adjoining

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

under it. A Police Commissioner may or may not hold certain powers of the executive magistrate, contrary to the

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 ...

(SP) or Senior SP (SSP) in charge of a

police district Police district is a form of division of a geographical area patrolled by a police force. The 1885 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' stated: Police forces using this format include: * Chicago Police Department * Baltimore Police Department * York Regi ...

who depends on the

district magistrate The district magistrate, also known as the district collector or deputy commissioner, is a career civil servant who serves as the executive head of a district's administration in India. The specific name depends on the state or union territo ...

to issue orders. Commissioner of Police (CP) is a post that can be held by an IPS officer of the rank SP and above, depending upon the sanction provided by the respective state government (or in case of Delhi, by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

History and description

Traditionally at the district level, the

(SP) or Senior SP (SSP) maintains law and order by working with the

District Magistrate The district magistrate, also known as the district collector or deputy commissioner, is a career civil servant who serves as the executive head of a district's administration in India. The specific name depends on the state or union territo ...

(DM). Under the Commissioners of Police (CP) system, the state governments may or may not grant certain powers of the executive magistrate to the commissioner, contrary to the Superintendent of Police or Senior SP of a

who depends on the district magistrate. For large metropolitan cities, the CP system is generally considered more suitable policing system. The commissioner is assisted by special commissioner, joint commissioner, additional commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner of police. The Commissionerates present in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

, and

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

can be considered true Commissionerates as they exercise the powers of the District Magistrate and the Executive Magistrate. The organisational structure of the police commissionerates varies state to state. For instance, the Police Commissioners of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and

report directly to the state government and not to the DGP. Similarly, in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, the Commissioner of Police does not have magisterial powers.

Commissionerates

A Police Commissionerate's jurisdiction can consist of several adjoining

. The Hyderabad City Police commissionerate since 1847 AD, established in the erstwhile

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

by the

Nizams Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

is the oldest police commissionerate in India. The British India government brought the CP system first to Kolkata and Chennai in 1856, and followed it in Mumbai in 1864.

Organisational structure

The police commissionerate is headed by a Commissioner of Police (CP). The post of Commissioner of Police can be held by an IPS officer of the rank SP and above, depending upon the sanction provided by the respective state government (or, in the case of

, by the

). The commissioner of police is assisted by special, joint, additional, deputy, and assistant commissioners of police, sanctioned by the respective state government. The organisation consists units like law and order, crimes, administration, armed reserve police, traffic police, special branch, security, etc. For the maintenance of law and order, there are police zones, divisions and sub divisions. Typically divisions are headed by deputy commissioners of police (DCPs), and sub divisions are headed by assistant commissioners of police (ACPs).

Hierarchy

The hierarchy of posts in Police Commissionerate system of Delhi is as given below, Police Commissionerate system in other cities may not have one or more of these posts:- * Commissioner of Police (CP) i.e. DGP equivalent * Special Commissioner of Police (Spl.CP) i.e. ADG equivalent * Joint Commissioner of Police (Jt. CP) i.e. IG equivalent * Additional Commissioner of Police (Addl.CP) i.e. DIG equivalent * Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) i.e. SSP or SP equivalent * Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Addl.DCP) i.e. Addl. SP equivalent * Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) i.e. DSP or ASP equivalent The subordinate police officers' hierarchy in the Police Commissionerate system is the same as in a district police headed by a Senior SP/SP, including ranks such as police inspector, sub-inspector, assistant sub-inspector, head constable, and constable.IMPACT OF POLICE COMMISSIONERATES ON POLICE EFFECTIVENESS AND POLICING OUTCOMES ;

Bureau of Police Research and Development The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) was set up on the 28 August 1970 to further the objectives of the Government of India regarding the modernisation of Indian Police Service, police forces. It has since evolved into a multi ...

Government of Indi

/ref>

List of commissioners of police

Following is the list of commissioners of police (CP) in India, along with their respective ranks (these ranks can vary from time to time):-

Andhra Pradesh Police

Assam Police

Delhi Police The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Delhi Police falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. In 2024, the sanctioned strength of Delhi Police w ...

Gujarat Police

Haryana Police The Haryana Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Haryana, India. Present DGP of Haryana Police is Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor since August 16, 2023. He is an IPS officer of 1990 batch. History The Haryana Police were ...

Karnataka Police

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

Madhya Pradesh Police

Maharashtra Police Maharashtra Police (IAST: ''Mahārāṣṭra Polīs Sēvā'', formerly '' Bombay State Police'') is the law enforcement agency responsible for the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is headed by Director General of Police, Rashmi Shukla (IPS), an ...

Nagaland Police

Odisha Police

Punjab Police

Rajasthan Police The Rajasthan Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Rajasthan, Rajasthan, India and is headquartered in Jaipur, the state capital. History The history of Indian Police Service, Indian police under British Raj, British rule ...

Tamil Nadu Police Tamil Nadu Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is over 150 years old and is the fifth largest state police force in India.

Telangana Police The Telangana Police, officially known as the, Telangana Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Telangana in India. It has jurisdiction concurrent with the 33 revenue districts of the state. The police force was create ...

Uttar Pradesh Police

West Bengal Police The West Bengal Police () is the primary law enforcement agency for the Indian state of West Bengal, excluding the metropolitan area of Kolkata, which has its own separate police force. It is responsible for maintaining public order, preventing ...

States and UTs without CP

The following police forces in India do not have Police Commissionerate (i.e. Commissioner of Police or CP) system:-

States

Arunachal Pradesh Police The Arunachal Pradesh Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency ( ...

* Bihar Police * Chhattisgarh Police * Goa Police * Himachal Pradesh Police * Jharkhand Police * Manipur Police * Meghalaya Police * Mizoram Police * Sikkim Police *

Tripura Police Tripura Police is the law enforcement agency of the state of Tripura which organizes and is responsible for policing activities in the state of Tripura, Northeast India. It was formed in the year 1965. Currently Shri Anurag Dhankar, IPS is D ...

Uttarakhand Police The Uttarakhand Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Uttarakhand in India. It was formed in 2000. Uttarakhand Police Constable Notification 2024: The Uttarakhand Subordinate Selection Commission (UKSSSC) has published an offi ...

Among the 10 most populous states of India, only

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

(3rd most populous) does not have CP system in any of its cities.

Union territories

* Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police * Chandigarh Police * Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Police *

Jammu and Kashmir Police The Jammu and Kashmir Police is the police force of Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. JKP was established in 1873 and has primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within Jammu and Kashmir. History The first ...

Ladakh Police Ladakh Police is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the Union territory of Ladakh, India. It came into existence on 31 October 2019. History The union territory of Ladakh was ...

* Lakshadweep Police * Puducherry Police

Largest cities without CP

Among the Indian cities having population above 1.5 million (2011 Census), the only city which does not have CP system is

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

Notes

References

External links

{{Law enforcement in India Police ranks of India *