Indian Police

The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the United Kingdom.

Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFS), the IPS is one of the All India Services — its officers can be employed by both the Union Government and the individual states.

The service commands and provides leadership to state and union territories\’ police forces, Central Armed Police Forces (BSF, SSB, CRPF, CISF, & ITBP), National Security Guards(NSG), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), National Investigative Agency(NIA), Intelligence Bureau(IB), Research & Analysis Wing(R&AW), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The First Police Commission, appointed on 17 August 1865, contained detailed guidelines for the desired system of police in India and defined the police as a governmental department to maintain order, enforce the law, and to prevent and detect crime. The Indian Police Service is not a force itself but a service providing leaders and commanders to staff the state police and all-India Central Armed Police Forces. Its members are the senior officers of the police. With the passage of time Indian Police Service\’s objectives were updated and redefined, the current roles and functions of an Indian Police Service Officer are as follows:

• To fulfil duties based on border responsibilities, in the areas of maintenance of public peace and order, crime prevention, investigation, and detection, collection of intelligence, VIP security, counter-terrorism, border policing, railway policing, tackling smuggling, drug trafficking, economic offences, corruption in public life, disaster management, enforcement of socio-economic legislation, bio-diversity and protection of environmental laws etc.
• Leading and commanding the Indian Intelligence Agencies like Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) etc., Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Civil and Armed Police Forces in all the states and union territories.
• Leading and commanding various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) which include the Central Police Organizations (CPO) such as Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guard (NSG), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Vigilance Organizations and Indian Federal Law Enforcement Agencies.
• To lead and command the force with courage, uprightness, dedication and a strong sense of service to the people.
• Endeavor to inculcate in the police forces under their command such values and norms as would help them serve the people better.
• Inculcate integrity of the highest order, sensitivity to aspirations of people in a fast-changing social and economic milieu, respect for human rights, broad liberal perspective of law and justice and high standard of professionalism.

Selection

The peaked cap worn by Indian Police Service officers as part of their uniform code.

IPS officers are recruited from Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC. They are also promoted from State Police Services and DANIPS. However, at present, recruitment from Limited Competitive Examination has been put on hold.

Training

The training of IPS officer recruits is conducted at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad. The authorized cadre strength of Indian Police Service is 4920. (3270 Direct Recruitment Posts and 1650 Promotional Posts).The Civil List of IPS officers is an updated (annual) list maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India that lists the posting details of all IPS officers in India. This Civil List can be accessed from the MHA website. It allows searching for an IPS officer on the basis of his/her name, Batch or Cadre.