1. Why do we have a police force?
We have a police force to provide citizens with a sense of safety and security. The police are there to maintain peace and order in society as well as prevent and detect crime. They are there as the law enforcers - to make sure that everyone, including the police force itself, follows the law at every step.
2. What are the police supposed to do?
The police force has several duties: it must prevent and control crime, anddetect and investigate it properly whenever it happens. It must also prepare an honest, evidence-base case for the prosecutor topresent at court. The police force has a responsibility for maintaining overall law and order and for this purpose also gathers information about what is happening in and around the community it serves.
3. What is meant by police powers?
The police have all sorts of different powers, all of which are given by law and they must use them only according to the procedure laid down in the law. So they can make arrests, carry out search and seizures, investigate offences, question witnesses, interrogate suspects, disperse unruly crowds and maintain order in society, but they have to do it strictly in the way the law lays down and not any other way. They cannot act just as they wish or want to. Any abuse of power or negligence of duty will amount to a breach of discipline, civil wrong or a crime and the police officer is liable to be punished.
4. Is there just one police force in India?
No. Each state has its own police force under the control of the government of that state. So there are many police forces in the country. Police that work in parts of India thatare directly under the control of the central gover nment like the capital Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, Daman and Diu, Lakshwadeep Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Andaman and Nicobar Islands come under the control of the central government.
5. What are the paramilitary forces?
Paramilitary forces like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Assam Rifles, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the National Security Guard (NSG) are armed policing organisations established for special duties by the central government. They are structured along the lines of the army and thus called paramilitary. They help the police in counter-insurgency or anti-terrorist activities and in moments of civil unrest.
6. Can anyone become a police officer?
Yes, anyone can become a police officer.However, you have to fulfill the conditions and standards laid down for that particular rank. For example, to join as aconstable you need to have at least passed high school. To join as a Sub Inspector you need to be a graduate.
7. How can I become a police officer?
There are three levels at which you can join the force. At the state level you can join either as a constable and go up to Deputy Superintendent of Police or you can join at Sub-Inspector level and get promoted all the way up to Superintendent of Police in charge of a district. Constables and sub-inspectors have to take a written entrance test. If you pass you have to go for a physical test. If that is cleared then you are called for an interview. Then you go through a medical check-up to see if you are medically fit and only then is the final selection done. IPS officers on the other hand are recruited at the central level and ranks begin as either Additional or Assistant Superintendent or Superintendent of Police.
8. What is the IPS?
IPS is short for Indian Police Service. It is one of the three all-India services of the government of India; the other two being the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFS). It is a general pool from which police officers are drawn and sent out to serve in senior posts all over the country.
9. How do I join the IPS ?
First you have to sit for the preliminary examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Dates and venue are published from time to time in local and national newspapers. If you pass that you can sit for the main written examination. If you clear the written examination you are interviewed by an interview board. When you are selected you are asked to indicate which central service you would like to join - the Foreign Service, the dministrative Service, the Police, Forest or Revenue. Only if you score very high marks will get your choice of service, because allotments to different civil services are merit-based.
10. What training will I get as an IPS officer?
In the IPS you go for a foundation training course at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration at Mussorie. This is followed by a basic training course at the National Police Academy at Hyderabad.
