Career in Police Services

What: The Police force in any country is entrusted with the responsibility of maintenance of public order and prevention and detection of crimes. A career in Police or Law Enforcement Service holds huge prospects for courageous and dedicated candidates. The constant increase in crime rates, and the resulting security conscious society, has increased the demand for police jobs in India and across the world. It has opened a lot of opportunities for those who are ready to serve the country in police force.

The Indian Police Service [IPS] is primarily concerned and involves with maintenance of Law and Order in the country. This is the premier uniformed and respectable civil service in the country. An I.P.S officer is the one who works for both the Central and State Governments. One can serve the State Government in various capacities that are ranging from Assistant Superintendent of Police at the beginning of his career to the Director General of Police (who is the head of the police force in his state) at the stage of retirement. There are opportunities also to serve the Central Government in various organizations like the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), etc.

At an entry level, one can expect to start his or her career with a package of Rs. 12,000.00 to Rs. 25,000.00 per month. However, experience, qualification and the quality of service are the ultimate deciding factors.

Whereas the salary may not be as high as that paid to a manager of a private company, the other allowances and intangibles more than make up for it. An Indian Civil Servant receives free health care, housing facilities, transport fares, etc. Also, there is the added assurance of job security since one is employed by the government.

How: A police official is mostly responsible for public safety and security. The officers mainly maintain the law and order, which, at the district level, is a responsibility shared with the administrative officials; crime prevention and detection; and traffic control and accident prevention and management.

In order to evenly fulfil these functions with greater efficiency, this service is divided into various functional departments, including: Crime Branch, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Home Guards and Traffic Bureau. With changing times today however, more and more police officers are serving in departments and areas that usually are exclusively the forte of IAS officers, just as the IAS officers now at times head departments like vigilance which were exclusively given to IPS officers.

There are two ways of getting into police (I) passing Civil Service Exam (ii) state cadre police service. A candidate recruited in the police service has to undergo a tough schedule of training at the Police Academy, and within 4 to 5 years one can expect to be the Supervisory position. IPS Officers, in due course of service may expect to rise to the levels of Director General of Police in a State or DG of any other Central para-military force. Entry into IPS is through the All-India Civil Services Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission.

Where : The recruitment process differs according to the level of the position, and direct entry, where an applicant does not have to start at the lowest level is possible. The educational requirements increase with recruitments for higher posts. The ideal qualification to get into police service is graduation.

The Superintendents of Police (SP) are recruited every year by an extremely competitive exam and are appointed into the Indian Police Service. The IPS officers are then assigned to a state force. Superintendents of Police undergo rigorous training for 44 weeks. The training programme also involves external invitees such as lawyers and management consultants. At the end of probation, they undergo an orientation training of few weeks at the assigned state’s police academy.

Lower, non-managerial positions are selected by the state or central government and are trained at Police Recruit Schools. The duration of training for inspectors is roughly a year, and for constables is nearly 9 months. The training staff for these schools are drawn from the police force itself.