In recent developments, the Uttar Pradesh government has greenlit the application of the Police Commissionerate System in two cities, Lucknow and Noida. The system will subject to a six-month review to assess its effectiveness in enhancing law and order management. In this new system, an officer of the Additional Director General of Police rank shall serve as commissioner with two deputies from the Inspector General of Police rank.
Salient Features of the New System
The newly introduced system isn’t just limited to these structural changes. A Superintendent of Police (SP) will be appointed specifically for women’s safety to ensure that crimes against women are controlled and appropriate investigations are carried out promptly. In addition to this, another SP rank officer will be responsible for handling traffic management issues in these cities.
To bolster this, CCTV cameras will be set up across various locations in both cities for the dual purpose of improving traffic management and maintaining law and order.
About the Police Commissionerate System
As per the 7th Schedule of the Constitution, matters pertaining to the police fall under the State list. This grants individual states the power to legislate and exercise control over it. At the district level, a ‘dual system’ of control is maintained where the Superintendent of Police (SP) works with the District Magistrate (DM) to oversee police administration.
However, in metropolitan cities, many states have adopted the commissionerate system instead of the dual system. The former allows for expedited decision-making to address complex urban-specific issues.
| State | System |
|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | Commissionerate |
| Bihar | Dual |
| Madhya Pradesh | Dual |
| J&K UT | Dual |
History and Structure of the Commissionerate System
The British establishment first introduced this system in Kolkata, which was then replicated in the Mumbai and Chennai presidencies. Between 1977-1979, Delhi transitioned into a commissionerate system.
In this system, a Commissioner of Police (CP) leads the unified police command structure. This individual is accountable for the city’s force and reports directly to the state government. The CP role is occupied by an officer of the Deputy Inspector General rank or higher and is supported by Special/Joint/Additional/Deputy Commissioners.
The Dual System Explained
Under the colonial era, the district collector was the overall in-charge of a district or region, and the Superintendent of Police reported to him. The powers of the executive magistrate, such as issuing orders for preventive arrests or imposition of Section 144 CrPC, were vested in the district collector. This was known as the dual system of police administration. With the implementation of the new system, the District Magistrates’ system will be discontinued experimentally.