Map of Kerala Police Department's jurisdiction. The map on left shows Kerala in India and on right shows the State with Thiruvananthapuram district in red.
Kerala Police has a reputation for being one of the best-managed state police forces in the nation, and the state ranks among the top states for maintaining law and order. One of the first police forces in South Asia to put community policing into practise is Kerala Police, which was one of the first to do so through legislation. The term "Janamaithri" Policing, which means "people-friendly Policing," is used to refer to it.
According to the data from Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), there are a total of 564 police stations in Kerala.[8] Among them, 484 police stations deal with local law enforcement, while the remaining 80 are specialised for specific purposes.[9][10] Out of these, 382 police stations are located in rural areas, while 102 police stations are located in urban areas.[11]
The rural police stations account for the majority of police stations in Kerala, comprising approximately 68% of the total. The urban police stations account for about 18% of the total, while the special purpose police stations account for about 14% of the total.
History
Prior to independence, the Kerala Police was governed by different administrations.[12]
Kerala Police traces its roots to the erstwhile Travancore State Police, which was established in 1936. After the integration of the princely states of Travancore and Cochin, the present-day Kerala Police was formed in 1956. The first Chief of Kerala Police was Shri. N.Chandrasekharan Nair IPS.[13]
Additional DGP (ADGP, L&O) heads this wing. The state of Kerala is divided into two police zones: South Zone and North Zone. Each zone is headed by an Inspector General of Police (IGP). The headquarters of the South Zone is at Nandavanam in Thiruvananthapuram district and the North Zone is at Nadakkavu in Kozhikode. The zone is further divided into ranges, with each police range encompassing several police districts. There are four police ranges in total: Thiruvananthapuram Range, Ernakulam Range, Thrissur Range, and Kannur Range. Kannur Range and Thrissur Range comes under North Zone, whereas Ernakulam Range and Thiruvananthapuram Range comes under South Zone. Each range is headed by a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). There are 20 police districts in Kerala in total. Each district is headed by a District Police Chief (DPC).
Each Police district is divided into some subdivisions to supervise activities of several police stations under its jurisdiction. There are 91 police sub-divisions in Kerala. Each sub-division is headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) or an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in the case of city police sub-divisions.
The police officer in charge of a sub division is called Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO). DYSPs or ACPs are posted as SDPOs. A Sub Division is further divided into Police Station areas, each of which is under an Inspector of Police designated as Station House Officer (SHO). Inspectors in charge of police stations are known as Inspector SHOs (ISHO). In small police stations sub-inspectors are appointed as SHOs. At the police station level, there are typically two wings: the law and order and the crime investigation. These are headed by a sub-inspector of police (SIs) who oversees the respective functions of maintaining public order and conducting criminal investigations within the station's jurisdiction. The SHO is assisted by sub-inspectors of police, assistant sub-inspectors of police, senior civil police officers, and civil police officers. The section known as General Executive is working in the police stations of Kerala.[14]
Police Districts, excluding Thiruvananthapuram City, Kochi City and Kozhikode City are headed by District Police Chiefs of the rank of Superintendent of Police (SPs)
The Commissioners of Police in Thiruvananthapuram City, Kochi City, and Kozhikode City are assisted by Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) with the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP). Each DCP is in charge of Law and Order, Crimes, Traffic, and Administration. The DCPs are assisted by Additional DCPs and Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) with the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.[15][16]
The Police Commissioners of Thiruvananthapuram City and Kochi City report directly to the State Police Chief through the ADGP, Law and Order.[17]
Note: The rank of Inspector of Police is colloquially known as Circle Inspector (CI). Historically, the police circle office was overseen by an Inspector of Police with the designation of Circle Inspector. However, as of 2017, the specific post of Circle Inspector has been discontinued.[23]
The Crime Branch is the specialized investigation wing of the Kerala police. It is headed by an officer of the rank of Additional Director General of Police.
Crime Branch investigates cases that are entrusted to it by the State Police Chief or the Government or the High Court of Kerala. The Cyber Crime Police Stations and Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell of the Kerala Police are functioning under the Crime Branch. This department was earlier known as Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CBCID).
Crime Branch is the Nodal agency for Interpol related matters in the State and conducts verifications or enquiries on behalf of Interpol.
Crime Branch is specialized in investigation of complex organized crimes, financial frauds, economic offences with huge ramifications, undetected or sensitive crime cases, cases with inter-state ramifications, etc.
Apart from this, the District Crime Branch (C-Branch) functions under the respective District Police Chiefs. District C-Branch is headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police. District C Branch acts as specialized investigating wing of the District Police Chief which is mandated to help in investigating sensational cases at the district level.
Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence)
The State Special Branch is the intelligence wing of the Kerala police. This wing is headed by an officer of the rank of Additional Director General of Police. The ADGP (intelligence) is assisted by Inspectors General of Police, Deputy Inspectors General of Police, Superintendents of Police and subordinate officers. The State Special Branch (SSB) is primarily concerned with the collection, collation and dissemination of intelligence on and about various political, communal, terrorist, national security, and labour activities and with relation to various law and order issues like agitations, strikes, demonstrations, protests, etc. The SSB functions as the eyes and ears of the government.
Armed police battalions
Armed police Bus
This wing is headed by an officer of the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP APBn). There are eleven armed police battalions in the state, which serve as reserve forces to be deployed whenever and wherever district police fall short of manpower in the maintenance of law and order. Each battalion is headed by a Commandant of the rank of Superintendent of Police.[24]Malabar Special Police is the oldest paramilitary force of India after Assam Rifles.
Deputy Commandant (DC) (equivalent to rank of Addl.SP)
Assistant Commandant (AC) (equivalent to rank of DySP)
Armed Police Inspector (API)
Armed Police Sub Inspector (APSI)
Armed Police Asst. Sub Inspector (APASI)
Havildar (Hdr.)
Armed Police Constable (PC)
Specialised units
Tourism Police
Tourism Police wing has been functioning in the state for maintaining law and order, preventing attack and harassment on tourists. They also assist the tourists for getting tourist related information, guidance, etc.[25] The uniform of Tourism Police Officers is sky blue shirt and khakee pants. International Tourism Police Station and Police Museum at Mattancherry in Ernakulam district is the first of its kind in the country which not only addresses grievances of tourists but also showcases the history of the Kerala Police. The primary aim of the station is to make the state of Kerala more tourist-friendly.[26]
Coastal Police
Coastal Police Stations handle the security of the coasts and carry out the patrolling in the sea up to 12 nautical miles. The cases reported on the sea (in the Territorial Waters) will be investigated by the Coastal Police. The headquarters of Kerala Coastal Police is situated at Kochi.
Railway Police
The responsibility of the Kerala Railway Police is to maintain law and order, prevent and detect crime on the railways and railway stations in Kerala.[27]
The main objectives of Pink Patrol are to prevent violence and crimes against women and children.[29] As part of improving women safety in public places, Kerala Police has rolled out a special patrol team called pink patrol with all women police officers, patrolling across all the busy areas of the various cities of Kerala. The team has been allotted pink Maruti Suzuki sedan cars. The Pink patrol vehicles are fitted with GPS and other smart equipments for faster response and assistance as well as has on-board cameras and scanning systems to identify potential offenders.
Narcotic Cell
Narcotic Cell collects intelligence on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) and pass it on to concerned police stations according to the gravity of cases. Monitoring and Supervising cases registered under NDPS Act is also done by this wing. Abkari raids are being conducted by Narcotic Cell on information.
District Narcotic Cell is functioning in all police districts, headed by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, and under supervision of District Police Chiefs.
Women Cell
State Women Cell is headed by a Superintendent of Police. In addition, One District Women Cell is also functioning in all Police Districts, each headed by a Woman Inspector. The State Women Cell is functioning at the Police Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. The first Woman Police Station started at Kozhikode in 1973.[30]
Thunderbolts is the elite commando unit of Kerala Police. It performs perilous counter-terrorism, jungle-warfare, and hostage-rescue operations. Thunderbolts are a form of SPG and NSG, which are trained to take on air, water and land attacks.
According to the Indian Police Service (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1955, Kerala Police Service officers are eligible for promotion to the IPS after completing eight years of service. But in reality, officers are generally promoted to the IPS after two and a half decades of service. KPS or State Police Service officers are inducted into the IPS by promotion from the rank of Superintendent of Police (non-IPS). After completing two decades of service, KPS officers get promoted to the Indian Police Service, after confirmation by the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India and the Union Public Service Commission. One-third of the total IPS strength in Kerala is reserved for KPS officers (SPS quota).
Unlike other state police forces, there is no direct recruitment for the Group A (gazetted) post of Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Kerala Police. Recruitment to the Kerala Police Service (Group-A) is by promotion from the rank of Inspector of Police.
Recruitment to the post of Sub Inspector of Police (Trainee) to the Kerala Civil Police Cadre is done through the competitive exam and departmental promotion tests conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission. Recruitment to the post of Sub Inspector (General Executive) is done through direct and indirect means in the ratio of 1:1.
Recruitment to the post of Civil Police Officer (constable) in the Kerala civil police cadre is done through a competitive exam conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission. Apart from this, the Kerala PSC conducts direct recruitment for various technical and special category posts like police constable (driver), armed police constable, police constable (commando wing), police constable (telecom), fingerprint expert, forensic expert, etc.[31]
Training
The training wing of state police is headed by an officer of the rank of Additional Director General of Police (Training).
Logo of Kerala Police Academy (KEPA)
Kerala Police Academy
The Kerala Police Academy is headed by the Director of the rank of Additional Director General of Police. The Director is assisted by Joint Directors, assistant directors, HODs,etc. The academy is situated at Thrissur. The academy will cater to the training needs of all officers of police department including IPS officers.
Police Training College
The head of Police Training College is Principal in the rank of Superintendent of Police. It is situated in Thiruvananthapuram. The Basic Training and In-service courses are key Training programmes carried out in PTC. Apart from giving Basic Training, many In-Service Courses such as Refresher courses, Re-orientation courses, Familiarization courses, Cader courses are also being undertaken at PTC. Basic training for Excise Inspectors, Forest Officers are also now being conducted. Training of Probationary Officers is carried out in PTC.
There is a regular line of promotion based on arising vacancies, contingent on factors such as seniority and eligibility.
The Government of Kerala has decided to give the rank of head constable (Senior Civil Police Officer) to constable (Civil Police Officer) who have completed 12 years of service in the civil police unit (local police). Senior Civil Police Officers who have completed 20 years of service will be given the rank of Assistant Sub Inspector (Grade), and Assistant Sub Inspectors who have completed 25 years of service will be given the rank of Sub Inspector of Police (Grade) or Grade SI. They will continue to carry the duties and responsibilities of the rank when they receive the honorary grade.
Head constable (Senior Civil Police Officer) - 12yrs of service as constable (Civil Police Officer).
Assistant Sub Inspector (Grade)- 20yrs of service as SCPO.
Head of a police zone, or head of a division or unit within the department, Police Commissioners of Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. Zones: South Zone, North Zone
AIG is a post equivalent in rank and status to the Superintendent of Police. Typically, AIG is in charge of administrative functions at police headquarters.
The head of a armed police battalion or unit. The role involves commanding and overseeing the operations and administration of the armed police battalion.
Head of a police district: This position is held by IPS officers, and the role involves the administration, oversight, and command of the police force in a district.[34]
Additional Superintendent Of Police, Administration
Officer in charge of a Police Subdivision. The Sub Division is headed by SDPO in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police [KPS] or Assistant Superintendent Of Police [IPS]. Supervision of the police stations under the subdivison.
Prior to 2017, the station house officer was an officer of the rank of sub inspector (SI).[36] Since 2017 Circle Inspectors (CIs) take charge as station house officer.[37] the nomenclature of Circle Inspector has been changed to Inspector/SHO or simply IP (Inspector of Police).
Sub Inspector (Grade)/ Assistant Sub Inspector (Grade)/Sr.Civil Police Officer (Grade).
GSI/GASI/GSCPO
-
This grade designation, however, is more of a nomenclature to be used in official records. Head Constables and ASIs can be promoted to Assistant Sub Inspector (Grade) and Sub Inspector (Grade) respectively after 15 and 25 years of service. This designation grants them the use of the corresponding rank's insignia and uniform, maintaining their existing duties and seniority and payscale.[32]
In 2011, the Kerala Police started using the designation Senior Civil Police Officer (SCPO) for personnel holding the rank of head constable. Constable to sub-inspector ranking personnel now belongs to the Kerala Civil Police Subordinate Service (KCP).[38][39]
In 2011, the Kerala Police started using the designation Civil Police Officer (CPO) for personnel holding the rank of constable. Constable to sub-inspector ranking personnel now belongs to the Kerala Civil Police Subordinate Service (KCP).[38][39]
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has termed Kerala Police as best in the country.[40] In 2021 Kerala Police bagged the National e-Governance Award.[41]
Kerala Police has achieved several significant milestones over the years. Some of the notable achievements include:
Women Police Stations: Kerala Police was the first in the country to establish women police stations, which exclusively deal with crimes against women.
Cyberdome: Kerala Police established Cyberdome, a state-of-the-art facility for cyber security and cybercrime investigation.
Janamaithri Suraksha: Kerala Police launched the Janamaithri Suraksha Project, a community policing initiative aimed at building a relationship of trust between the police and the public.
Pink Patrol: Kerala Police launched Pink Patrol, a patrol team consisting of women police officers, to ensure the safety and security of women in public places.
The Public Affairs Index selected Kerala as the best state in 2016 and 2017 considering its excellence in law and order.[42]
According to the grading conducted by Plan India for Women's Safety, Kerala ranks second in the country in terms of ensuring women's safety (Gender Vulnerability Index).[43]
Kollam City Police achieved ISO 9001 certification for excellence in office functioning and maintaining high levels of quality control in day-to-day activities in January 2018.[44]
Valapatnam Police Station has been selected as one of the top ten police stations in the country based on the inspection and study of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The handling of criminal cases, effective implementation of anti-drug activities and public involvement of the police helped the Valapatanam police station to achieve this achievement.
COPS Today International, a journal published by the Foundation for Research, recently honored Kerala Police's Community Policing Program Janmaitri Police Project with the Police Excellence Award.
Controversies
Kerala Police has also faced several controversies over the years. Some of the notable controversies include:
Custodial Deaths: Kerala Police has faced allegations of custodial deaths, where suspects died in police custody.[45]
Encounter Killings: Kerala Police has faced allegations of fake encounter killings, where suspects were killed in fake encounters.[46]
Police Brutality: Kerala Police has faced allegations of police brutality, where suspects were subjected to excessive force during arrest or interrogation.[47]
There have been several allegations of irregularities and brutalities by Kerala Police officials.[48] Kerala Police has been accused of failure in curbing violence[49] and failure to act on intelligence reports.[50] Indian poet Tapan Kumar Pradhan in his books and social media posts has exposed several irregularities in criminal investigation by Kerala Police,[51] especially in Hemangi Sharma Fraud Case.[52]
The Kerala Police was criticized for its failure to control the event of 2014 Kiss of Love protest against moral policing.[53][54] Police allowed counter-protesters—who included members of Shiv Sena, SDPI, and Bajrang Dal—to attack the protest.[55] Although they attempted to physically stop the Kiss of Love protesters from legally protesting, none of the counter protesters were removed.[54][56] Police later claimed that they arrested the Kiss of Love protesters to save the protesters' lives.[57]
^This rank is popularly known as Circle Inspector of Police. Circle Inspector was an earlier position in the Kerala Police. Although it is not a rank, this rank is widely recognized by the name of position "Circle Inspector."
^Also known as Senior Superintendent of Police or Assistant Inspector General of Police.
^The newly created Additional SP post is held by state police service (KPS) officers.
^Police Circles have been abolished and Circle Inspectors have been appointed as Inspector / Station House Officer. Nomenclature of CI is changed to IP/SHO.
^The designation of personnel holding the rank of head constable is Senior Civil Police Officer (SCPO).
