Kerala Police


The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, Firm in Action" in Sanskrit. It operates under the administrative control of the Home Department, Government of Kerala. The force is headed by the Director General of Police-cum-State Police Chief, and the incumbent chief is Ravada A Chandrasekhar, IPS.
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, there are a total of 564 police stations in Kerala. Among them, 484 police stations deal with local law enforcement, while the remaining 80 are specialised for specific purposes. Out of these, 382 police stations are located in rural areas, while 102 police stations are located in urban areas. The specialized police stations include 14 women's police stations, 13 railway police stations, 18 coastal police stations, 19 cybercrime police stations, 1 crime branch police station, and 1 ATS police station.
The rural police stations account for the majority of police stations in Kerala, constituting 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.
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. N. Chandrasekharan Nair IPS became the first Inspector General of Police of Kerala and is often recognized as the first police chief of the state.
In 1960, the Kerala Police was given more powers and duties by the enactment of the Kerala Police Act of 1960. This legislative framework provided the foundation for modern policing in Kerala. The first women's police station in India was established in Kozhikode in 1973 and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Smt. Indira Gandhi.
In 1981, the position of the head of the Kerala Police department was elevated to Director General of Police. T. Ananta Shankara Iyer IPS became the first DGP of Kerala.

Current general/flag officers

Organization

Police headquarters

The Kerala Police is headed by the State Police Chief, who is the senior-most Indian Police Service officer in the state and holds the rank of Director General of Police. The Director General of Police-cum-State Police Chief is appointed by the Government of Kerala from among the officers nominated by the Union Public Service Commission.
State Police Chief is designated as the head of the department for all administrative and operational purposes. The state police headquarters is also the office of the State Police Chief and is located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state's capital. The SPC is assisted by staff officers ranging from the Additional Director General of Police to the Deputy Superintendent of Police at the headquarters. The HQ oversees and coordinates the overall functioning of the police force in the state.
The state police structure comprises units such as Intelligence, Law & Order, [|Crime Branch], [|Armed Police Battalions], [|State Special Branch], Kerala Police Academy,Police Training College, Coastal Police, State Crime Records Bureau, Social Policing, Traffic, Economic Offences Wing, Protection of Civil Rights, and Cyber Operations. Each unit is further divided into several divisions, zones, ranges, districts for better administration. Each unit is overseen by an officer with the rank of Additional Director General of Police.

Hierarchy

Officers:

Law and Order

The Law and Order Wing, also known as the General Executive Branch, is the uniformed division of the Kerala Police and serves as its primary operational arm. Officers in this wing are deployed at the district, city, and local police station levels. They wear standard police uniforms and are often the first point of contact between the public and the police system.central role in everyday policing duties such as patrolling, crime investigation, crowd control, traffic management, responding to emergencies, and conducting routine law enforcement operations.
The incumbent ADGP is H. Venkatesh, IPS.

Office of the ADGP, Law and Order

The Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order is the head of the law and order wing of the Kerala Police, with its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. As a key component of the state police, the ADGP L&O oversees the overall supervision and administration of police zones, ranges, and district police, ensuring effective law and order maintenance throughout Kerala. The ADGP L&O is responsible for the day-to-day operations of local police, including police station functions, patrolling, crime prevention and detection, law and order maintenance, and traffic management. The ADGP L&O functions under the State Police Chief and reports to him.

Police zones

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. 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.

Police ranges

A police range consists several police districts under its jurisdiction. There are four police ranges: Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur. Each range is headed by a Deputy Inspector General of Police

Police Commissionerates

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 Commissionerate under Kerala Police for Urban Area policing.
Currently Thiruvananthapuram City Police, Kochi City Police and Kozhikode City Police are headed by Commissioners of Police with the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police. The remaining Kollam City Police, Thrissur City Police, and Kannur City Police are headed by Commissioners of the rank of Superintendent of Police.
The Commissioners of Police in Thiruvananthapuram City, Kochi City, and Kozhikode City are assisted by Deputy Commissioners of Police with the rank of Superintendent of Police. 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 with the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
  • The Commissionerates of Thiruvananthapuram City and Kochi City do not fall under police zones, and their Commissioners report directly to the State Police Chief through the ADGP.
  • Presently these Commissionerates are not vested with magisterial powers.

    Police districts

There are 20 police districts in total. Eight of these police districts are coterminous with the respective revenue districts, while the remaining 12 police districts are situated within revenue districts that are bifurcated into city and rural. Out of these 20 police districts, 14 are rural police districts, and 6 are city police districts.
Each police district is headed by a District Police Chief. The District Police Chief must be an officer holding the rank of Superintendent of Police or higher. In specific districts such as Thiruvananthapuram City, Kochi City, and Kozhikode City, the role of District Police Chief is filled by higher-ranking officers, specifically those with the ranks of Inspector General of Police and Deputy Inspector General of Police, and remaining police districts are headed by officers holding the rank of Superintendent of Police. The DPC is assisted by an Additional Superintendent of Police, and Deputy Superintendents of Police. Each district comprises two or more subdivisions, several police stations and other special units.
The special units are District Special Branch, District Crime Branch, District Crime Records Bureau, Narcotics Cell, and the Armed Reserve Camp. These units are headed by Deputy Superintendents of Police.

Subdivisions

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 or an Assistant Commissioner of Police in the case of city police sub-divisions.
The police officer in charge of a sub division is called Sub Divisional Police Officer. DYSPs or ACPs are posted as SDPOs. A sub-division consists several Police Stations under its jurisdiction.