State & UT

Police in India primarily belong to the State List of the Constitution and, therefore, Policing and various Police matters falls into the jurisdiction of the respective State Governments. Police organizations are identified by the name of the State to which they belong, and even their nomenclatures are given after the names of the respective States, i.e. Rajasthan Police, Assam Police, Bihar Police, Kerala Police etc. At the State level, Police administration is more or less uniform throughout the country. Section 3 of the Police Act 1861 lays down that the Superintendence of the Police throughout the State shall vest in the State Government. The Indian Police System is horizontally stratified like military forces and is organized into various cadres. The Police in each State are divided vertically into armed and unarmed branches. In all the States, Police departments are located in the Departments of Home, usually presided over by the Chief Minister or other senior member of the State Cabinet. The Home Secretary or the Home Commissioner assists the concerned Minister in the overall supervision and control over the Department and in taking decisions regarding Police Administration. The State Police are generally headed by DGP rank officers.