Commissioners of Police (CP) in India are heads of the police force in certain metropolitan areas colloquially referred to as 'police commissionerates'.
They are traditionally members of the Indian Police Service with executive magisterial powers not granted to other senior police officers (members of the Indian Police Service), evolving from the historical role of justice of the peace, assigned to commissioners leading the presidency towns of British India.
The rank and authority conferred upon commissioners of police is largely uniform throughout India in that they are all executive magistrates under the Code of Criminal Procedure, however varies in that a commissioner of police forces of larger cities tends to be equated to higher ranks in the Indian Police Service—three of India's four biggest cities are led by commissioners equated to the rank of director-general of police. The police commissioner of lowest rank in India is that of Thrissur City Police, which is led by a superintendent (the lowest possible rank of a police commissioner)
Commissioners of police and their police forces are generally subordinate to and part of the police force of the state thereof, the only exceptions being Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The police forces of Mumbai and Kolkata are not part of the police force of their respective states; they report directly to their states' home ministers. As Delhi is a union territory with limited self-government, the commissioner does not report to the local union territory government; it reports directly to the union minister of home affairs. All, except one (Patna), of the 20 largest cities in India have police forces headed by commissioners of police.
Commissioners of Police in Kerala do not have magisterial powers. The Government of Kerala appointed senior IGP-rank IPS officers as Commissioners of Police for Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi as an initial step towards a full police commissionerate system; however, the move faced opposition. Consequently, the state government has not granted magisterial powers to the commissioners due to political opposition, including from within the ruling coalition.
History and description Traditionally at the district level, the Superintendent of Police (SP) or Senior SP (SSP) maintains law and order by working with the District Magistrate (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 police district 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, Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, and Kolkata 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, Mumbai and Kolkata report directly to the state government and not to the DGP. Similarly, in Kerala, the Commissioner of Police does not have magisterial powers.
Commissionerates A Police Commissionerate's jurisdiction can consist of several adjoining districts. The Hyderabad City Police commissionerate since 1847 AD, established in the erstwhile Hyderabad State by the Nizams 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 Delhi, by the Government of India). 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. Addl. DGP 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 Government of India.
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
Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, NTR districtAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, VisakhapatnamAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, GunturInspector General of Police (IG) / Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, KurnoolInspector General of Police (IG) / Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, RajamahendravaramInspector General of Police (IG) / Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, TirupatiInspector General of Police (IG) / Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Assam Police Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, GuwahatiAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)
Chhattisgarh Police Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, RaipurInspector General of Police (IG)
Delhi Police
Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, DelhiDirector General of Police (DGP)
Gujarat Police
Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, AhmedabadAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, SuratAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, RajkotAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, VadodaraAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)
Haryana Police Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, GurugramInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, FaridabadInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, PanchkulaInspector General of Police (IG)
Karnataka Police
Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, BengaluruAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, BelagaviDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, Hubballi-DharwadDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, KalaburagiDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, MangaluruDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, MysuruInspector General of Police (IG)
Kerala Police
Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, ThiruvananthapuramInspector General of Police (IG) / Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, KochiInspector General of Police (IG) / Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, Kozhikode Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, Kollam CitySuperintendent of Police (SP)Commissioner of Police, Thrissur CitySuperintendent of Police (SP)Commissioner of Police, Kannur CitySuperintendent of Police (SP)
Madhya Pradesh Police Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, BhopalInspector General of Police (IGP)Commissioner of Police, IndoreInspector General of Police (IGP)
Maharashtra Police
Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, MumbaiDirector General of Police (DG)Commissioner of Police, PuneAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, NagpurAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, ThaneAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, Navi MumbaiAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, NashikAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, SambhajiNagarInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar (MBVV)Additional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, Pimpri-ChinchwadInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, SolapurDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, AmravatiDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, Railways, MumbaiInspector General of Police (IG)
Nagaland Police Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, DimapurDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Odisha Police
Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar-CuttackAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)
Punjab Police Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, AmritsarInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, LudhianaInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, JalandharDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Rajasthan Police Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, JaipurAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, JodhpurInspector General of Police (IG)
Tamil Nadu Police
Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, ChennaiAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, CoimbatoreInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, MaduraiInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, SalemInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, TiruppurInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, TirunelveliInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, TiruchirappalliInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, AvadiAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, TambaramAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)
Telangana Police
Post Rank ReferenceCommissioner of Police, Hyderabad CityDirector General of Police (DGP)Commissioner of Police, CyberabadInspector General of Police (IG)Commissioner of Police, KarimnagarDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, NizamabadSuperintendent of Police (SP)Commissioner of Police, KhammamSuperintendent of Police (SP)Commissioner of Police, RachakondaAdditional Director General of Police (Addl.DGP)Commissioner of Police, RamagundamDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)Commissioner of Police, SiddipetSuperintendent of Police (SP)Commissioner of Police, WarangalDeputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)
Uttar Pradesh Police