West Bengal Police


The West Bengal Police is one of the two police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal.
The West Bengal Police was reorganized under provisions of the Police Act 1861 during the British Raj. It is headed by an officer designated as the Director General of Police who reports to the State Government through the Home Department. Shri Virendra, an IPS officer of 1985 batch is the DG & IGP of West Bengal Police since June 1, 2018.
The West Bengal Police has jurisdiction concurrent with the eighteen revenue districts of the State which comprises one of the two general police districts of West Bengal as under the Police Act 1861. The other general police district consists of the major portions of the metropolitan area of Kolkata, and has a separate police force constituted and administered under the Calcutta Police Act 1866 & Calcutta Act 1866. This arrangement, unique in India, was conceived during colonial times when Calcutta was the capital of British India. The city police have been kept independent of the state police force.

Structure

Zones

The police administration in the state is divided into three police zones and a Government Railway Police Zone, each headed by an Inspector General of Police. Each Zone consists of one or more Ranges headed by an officer designated as the Deputy Inspector General of Police. In all, there are 28 police districts, each headed by a Superintendent of Police. The three Zones are South Bengal Zone, Western Bengal Zone and North Bengal Zone, and an office of the IGP railways.training college.

Ranges

West Bengal Police has Ten Police Ranges in three zones and a Railways zone.
ZoneRangesDistricts
South Bengal ZonePresidency RangeBaruipur Police District, Diamond Harbour Police District, Sundarbans Police District, and Howrah Rural Police
South Bengal ZoneMurshidabad RangeKrishnanagar Police District, Ranaghat Police District and Murshidabad
South Bengal ZoneBarasat RangeBarasat Police District, Basirhat Police District and Bongaon Police District
Western ZoneBurdwan RangeHooghly, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman and Birbhum
Western ZoneMidnapore RangePaschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur
Western ZoneBankura RangeBankura, Purulia and Jhargram
North Bengal ZoneJalpaiguri RangeJalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar
North Bengal ZoneDarjeeling RangeDarjeeling and Kalimpong
North Bengal ZoneMalda RangeMalda
North Bengal ZoneRaiganj RangeUttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur

Police ranks

The West Bengal Police maintains the following ranks:
Designation in State PoliceDesignation in CommissioneretAbbreviation
Director General of PoliceDGP
Additional Director General of PoliceCommissioner of Police or Special Commissioner of PoliceAddl. DGP or CP or Spl. CP
Inspector General of PoliceAdditional Commissioner of PoliceIGP or Addl. CP
Deputy Inspector General of PoliceJoint Commissioner of PoliceDIG or Jt. CP
Senior Superintendent of PoliceDeputy Commissioner of Police SSP or DCP
Superintendent of PoliceDeputy Commissioner of PoliceSP or DCP
Additional Superintendent of PoliceAdditional Deputy Commissioner of PoliceAddl.. SP or Addl. DCP
Deputy Superintendent of Police
/Sub Divisional Police Officer		Assistant Commissioner of PoliceDSP/SDPO or ACP
Assistant Superintendent of PoliceSame in both state and city policeAsst. SP
Police InspectorSame in both state and city policeInspector
Sub-inspectorSame in both state and city policeSI
Assistant Sub-InspectorSame in both state and city policeASI
Senior Police Constable Same in both state and city police
Junior Police Constable Same in both state and city police

Ranges

Each Range comprises two or more districts and the Range is headed by an Deputy Inspector General of Police. In West Bengal there are 10 ranges, each range is headed by an DIG.

Districts

Each Police District is either coterminous with the Revenue district or in the case of Government Railway Police districts, is located within a number of revenue districts. It is headed by a District Superintendent of Police. Each district comprises two or more Sub-Divisions, several Circles and Police Stations.
But in recent times, Several districts are divided into police districts for better police administration. Each of those police districts are headed by an SP.

Sub-Divisions

Each Sub-Division is headed by one Police officer of the rank Deputy Superintendent of Police or an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
The officer who heads a Sub-Division is known as SDPO i.e. Sub Divisional Police Officer. suv divisional officer is the head of the sub division

Circles

A Circle comprises several Police Stations. An Inspector of Police who heads a police circle is the Circle Inspector of Police or CI.

Stations

A Police Station is headed by either a Sub-Inspector or an Inspector. Police outposts are headed by a Sub-Inspector or Assistant Sub Inspector. After the year 2009 both ASI and SI have equal investigation power and both serve as duty officers.
A Police Station is the basic unit of policing, responsible for prevention and detection of crime, maintenance of public order, enforcing law in general as well as for performing protection duties and making security arrangements for the constitutional authorities, government functionaries, representatives of the public in different legislative bodies and local self governments, public figures etc.

Comissionerate

A police commissionerate is a law enforcement body especially in the urban parts of the state. The commissionerate is headed by a Commissioner of Police. There are Six commissionerates under West Bengal police, at Howrah, Bidhanagar, Barrackpore, Asansol-Durgapur, Siliguri & Chandannagar for Hooghly Urban Area policing. The Howrah, Chandannagar, Asansol-Durgapur & the Siliguri Police commissionerates are headed by Commissioner of Police who are of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police while the Bidhanagar, Barrackpore police commissionerates are headed by Commissioner of Police of the rank of Inspector General of Police.

Organisation

The Police Manual of West Bengal Police was compiled and issued during British Raj and is known as the Police Regulations of Bengal, 1943 and with subsequent modifications and corrections, is the guiding source of internal Police Organization and Administration under its area of responsibility. The WBP is divided into a number of units:

Armed Police

The Armed Battalions consisting of State Armed Police, Eastern Frontier Rifles and India Reserve Battalions,

Civil Police

The Civil Police consists of the Criminal Investigation Department, Counter Insurgency Force, Enforcement Branch, Intelligence Branch, Traffic Branch, Police Telecommunications, Training Wing, State Crime Records Bureau & Police Computer Centre.

STRACO

An elite force named "STRACO" has been created to combat insurgency & terrorism, posted in West Zone to fight Maoist guerrillas. WBP is raising another new "Counter Insurgency" force on the line of Gray Hound Special Force of Andhra Pradesh Police.

STF

West Bengal government created new directorate of the Special Task Force under West Bengal Police

SVSPA

The Swami Vivekananda State Police Academy is the state level police training institution catering to the training needs of West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police. The Academy conducts basic training for DSP Probationers, Cadet Sub-Inspectors of both Armed & Un-Armed branches and Recruit Constables for West Bengal Police and also for Warders and Inspectors of Correctional Services, Sub- Inspectors and Sergeants of Kolkata Police. The Academy also conducts Pre-promotional training for Constables, Asst. SI's and SI's for their promotion to the next rank besides conducting various short in- service training courses on different professional issues.
SVSPA is well equipped with in-house faculty members both for academic indoor training and outdoor training. Besides, a number of eminent faculty members from different disciplines take classes for the training programs. These include academicians, experts from Forensic Science Medicine, scientific officers/experts from Forensic Science Laboratory & Central Forensic Science Laboratory, lawyers, judicial officers and senior police officers.

Recruitments

Entries are done at the following ranks:

1. Constables / Lady constables, Sub Inspectors and Lady Sub inspectors: Appointment done through West Bengal Police Recruitment Board.

2. West Bengal Police Service: Officers selected through West Bengal Civil Service etc. Examination conducted by West Bengal Publice Service Commission are appointed as Deputy Superintendents of Police.

4. Indian Police Service: Officers selected through Civil Service Examinations conducted by Union Public Service Commission are appointed as Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Eastern Frontier Rifles

The Eastern Frontier Rifles are an armed police force of the WBP, the purpose of which is to control major law & order problems, communal riots and terrorist attacks. Many contingents of EFR are kept deployed in various disturbed areas of the State. However, in recent years the effectiveness of this force has been weakened by overuse and prolonged deployment at Police Stations for day-to-day law & order duties. The headquarters of EFR is at Salua, near Kharagpur.

Counter Insurgency Force

The specialised force of the CIF was raised by the Government following the worsening situation in the jungle mahal. The force was charged with the specific task of curbing presence of the maoists within the state. The force was allowed its own recruiting process so as to select the best men from within the force. The importance of this organization can be judged by the fact that it is headed by an Additional Director General of Police.

Ranks

The Director General functions from the West Bengal Police Directorate, located in the Writers' Buildings, the State Government's main Secretariat in Central Kolkata. He is assisted by a team of senior officers from the ranks of Additional DG & IG of Police to Assistant Inspector General of Police. Officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police are selected by the West Bengal Public Service Commission through the West Bengal Service Civil Service Exams. In addition to this, the direct Sub Inspectors of Police may also become Deputy Superintendent of Police on promotion,D.C, after successful completion of their tenure as Inspectors of Police.

Insignia of West Bengal Police (State Police)

Equipment