Types of Police Officers: In India, Types of Policeman, Jobs, Eligibility, Average Salary 2023

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There are various types of Police Officers based on their ranks, qualification, and experience. The starting rank of a Police Officer in India is that of a Constable and the highest rank is that of Director General of Police (DGP). However candidates who have qualified the UPSC exams are eligible to start at positions such as Deputy Superintendent of Police or Superintendent of Police. There are a total of 28 states and 9 union territories in India and each state has a designated team of Police Officers across various designations who are in charge of maintaining law and order within the society.

In order to become a Police Officer, aspiring candidates must pursue Undergraduate Criminology Courses or in any discipline, followed by clearing various Entrance Exams such as SSC, UPSC etc. Apart from Criminology Courses, candidates can also pursue Undergraduate or Postgraduate courses in Sociology or Political Science. India is home to several top Arts colleges who offer these courses. Admissions to these colleges are done both on the basis of merit as well as on the basis of Entrance Exams such as DUET, IPUCET, CUET etc.

The average salary of a Police Officer in India, for a position of Constable is INR 3.03 LPA. On the other hand, the starting salary of an IPS officer is INR 6.72 LPA. The highest salary as per the rank of the Indian Police Force, i.e. Director General of Police is INR 24.59 LPA. Read More: Salary of a Police Officer

Table of Content

Qualifications to Become a Police Officer
Types of Police Officers

2.1 Designation Wise

2.2 Central Agencies

2.3 Central Investigation and Intelligence

Police Jobs
Salary of a Police Officer
Types of Police Officers: FAQs

Qualifications to Become a Police Officer

There are several eligibility and qualifications required in order to become a Police Officer in India. However, candidates must be clear that the criterias are different across different positions and designations.

Candidates aspiring to become SP / ASP or DSP, should first clear the IPS Exams.
For posts held by the State Government, candidates must clear the SSC entrance exam.
These Entrance Exams usually comprises both written and physical tests.
Apart from this, there are several other specifications that must be met, such as height, weight and other physical criteria, which are decided during the time of these examinations.

Types of Police Officers

There are various Types of Policeman based on their ranks and departments they are assigned to. The sections below will discuss them in detail.

Designation Wise

As already mentioned, the starting rank in the Indian Police Force is that of a Constable, while the highest rank is that of a Director General of Police. The table below shows the various types of a police man in India, followed by their job profile and average salary received by them for your reference,

Designations	Job Profiles	Average Annual Salary (INR)
Police Constable	The role of a police constable is to gather information and collect the evidence. They perform duties like patrolling, crime detection, escort for prisoners and VIPs, assisting civil administrations etc	4.2 L
Head Constable	They are incharge of beat areas in rural and urban police stations. They guide constables and instruct them to perform duties assigned to them.	5.80 L
Assistant Sub Inspector	They are usually in charge of armories. They are also a part of border patrolling with BSF. They make reports of incidents and report it to other senior officers.	6.70 L
Sub Inspector	They ensure the effective working of the management or staff subordinate to them. Their main agenda is to maintain peace and prevention and detection of crimes. They also maintain a register in the Police station.	7.10 L
Assistant Police Inspector	Their job profile includes supervising the investigation in the absence of an Inspector. They are responsible for the prevention or detection of crime within his jurisdiction.	7.81 L
Police Inspector	The job of an Inspector is to supervise the investigation under his jurisdiction. They also train junior investigating officers investigating the case under their jurisdiction. They also supervise all official works including maintenance of records and report it to senior Police officers.	8 L
Deputy Superintendent of police	They are incharge of executing all duties and maintain law and order or any other duties as assigned by the Superintendent of Police. They also supervise the work of their juniors. They also look after all the cases registered by the other police station within their jurisdiction	9.60 L
Additional SP	They are responsible to perform all administrative, financial and other duties which are authorized or delegated to him by the Superintendent of Police. He should also ensure by constant supervision that the prevention, detection, detention is properly and efficiently done.	13.41 L
Deputy Commissioner of Police	As a DCP, one has to enforce policies and activities given by the central government or state government. They have the power to inspect and monitor the work done by other junior officials. They also act as an appellate authority in revenue	15.2 L
Deputy Inspector General	They are ranked above the Superintendent of Police. The DIG helps the IG in supervising and overseeing the various police stations under their jurisdiction.	22.16 L
Inspector General of Police	The IG looks after the overall administrative, financial and other duties of the Police force. They are only appointed from among the IPS officers. They exercise command over the Police Force and they also perform other functions delegated to them by the legislation.	27.6 L
Director General of Police	They are responsible for administration of all the Police departments in the State. Their main role is to supervise and check and ensure that the department is properly functioning and has disciplinary authority.	34.1 L

Central Agencies

There are various departments that come under the jurisdiction of the central police such as BSF, CRPF, CISF etc. The table below will discuss the various departments along with their average salaries for your reference,

Departments	Job Profiles	Average Annual Salary (INR)
Border Security Force (BSF)	It is an agency which is deployed across the borders. The main purpose is to ensure the security of the borders of India. They perform active roles in the outbreak of war.	2.45 L
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)	They undertake duties of matters relating to internal security, elections, Naxalies operations or any other duty assigned to them by the Government of India.	3.33 L
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)	It comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Their main role is to assist the state/Union territories in Police operations to ensure law and order.They enable the government to maintain Public order, security to preserve integrity of the nation.	6.7 L
Indo-Tibetan Border Police	They are deployed across the India- China Border. They are vigilant on the borders and help to prevent any border violations. They check illegal immigration and smuggling across borders.	3.2 L
National Security Guard	Also known as commandos who are trained to conduct counter-terrorism such as hijacks on land, sea and air. They are also trained for diffusing bombs.	7.8 L

Central Investigation and Intelligence

As per the Central Investigation and Intelligence there are 9 broad classifications on the various types of policeman, as tabulated below for your reference,

Department	Job Profile	Average Annual Salary (INR)
Central Bureau of Investigation	This agency is responsible for ensuring no illegal activities are done whether in crime, economic offenses, drugs, etc. They are also divided into various other branches. They are also responsible for investigating crime scenes in complex cases which are assigned to them by the Government of India.	7.2 L
Income Tax Department	This department is responsible for the administration of taxes. They determine tax liabilities of individuals, companies, HUF, audits, etc. They are also authorized to perform Income tax raids	7.4 L
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence	They investigate commercial frauds, financial frauds, fraud related to import-export. They have to complete the investigation within the allotted time frame.	8.5 L
Central Economic Intelligence Bureau	This agency works and monitors coordination with various Financial agencies. They work closely with the income tax department in the case of smuggling, black money, money laundering, etc.	6.33 L
Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence	This department discharges functions of the Central excise and customs department. They collect information and disseminate intelligence in relation to custom and excise duties.	8.1 L
National Investigation Agency	This department performs functions related to counter terrorism and investigate details relating to terrorism and others affecting the national security.	8.9 L
Narcotics Control Bureau	They deal with people who illegally sell drugs to smugglers and other buyers. They are authorized to perform raids and arrest the suspect and keep them in custody to present them before the court.	12.1 L
Bureau of Police Research and Development	This department comes under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs. They identify the needs and problems of the Police in the country. They perform several research works and develop modalities to meet the requirements of the Police.	8.2 L
National Crime Records Bureau	They act as a repository of information on crime and criminals. They also assist in the investigation of the crime.	7.7 L

Police Jobs

Apart from the fact that Police Officers are incharge of maintaining law and order and harmony within a society, there are several other duties that fall under the purview of a police officer. Some of the most crucial duties of a Police Officer are listed below for your reference,

Protects people and property through enforcing laws and regulations; Patrols allocated areas proactively.
Responds to police service requests.
Conducts criminal and traffic investigations, both preliminary and follow-up.
Ability to utilize judgment in selecting when and to what extent to use force in an emergency situation day or night
Understanding legal documents such as citations, affidavits, warrants, and others.

Salary of a Police Officer

The average salary of a police Officer on the basis of relevant years of experience gained are tabulated below for your reference,

Years of Experience	Average Annual Salary (INR)
0 - 5 years	3.5 L
6 - 10 years	5.1 L
11 - 15 years	6.7 L
16 - 20 years	8.1 L
20 years & above	11.3 L

Types of Police Officers: FAQs

Ques. What is the minimum eligibility to become a Director-General of Police?

Ans. Candidates who want to become a Director-General of Police should need to have a bachelor’s or a masters level degree and candidates should qualify for the UPSC exam for cracking this position.

Ques. Is there any experience required to become an Inspector-General of Police?

Ans. To become an Inspector General of Police, the officer must need to have a minimum of 19 or higher experience.

Ques. What is the package of the commissioner?

Ans. The pay scale of a commissioner is between 37400-67000 Rs per month. Also, there are various types of allowance provided to the commissioner.

Ques. What is the necessary qualification to become a police officer?

Ans. The necessary qualification which is required to become a police officer is candidates should be minimum of 21 years of age and maximum various from category wise, Also candidates should have a proof of residency of India.

Ques. Is there any entrance exam required to become a police officer?

Ans. There are various entrance exams which are required to become a police officer on the different designation. Some common entrance exam names are SSC Constable, Civil Services Exams, and other state-level recruitment exams, etc.

Ques. What are the required skills to become a police officer?

Ans. Candidates who want to become police officers should need to have the following skills: Open-mindedness, Resilience, Able to remain calm in challenging or dangerous situations, Assertiveness, Teamworking Skills, Maturity, Negotiating skills, Able to handle responsibility, Good interpersonal skills, Communication skills, Problem-solving skills,

Ques. Who is the detective?

Ans. Police detectives play an important role in detection work. They work on the secret mission with the uniform or undercover as well. The main duty of a detective is to investigate the crimes. But apart from that detective is responsible for taking interviews, examine records, monitor suspects, and participate in raids and arrests.

Ques. Are the Director-General of Police and the Additional Director General of Police are same?

Ans. The Director-General of Police and the Additional Director General of Police are not the same. Director-General of Police has come into the ranking one and the Additional Director-General of Police are come into the 2nd ranking. DGP typically heads the state or UT police force.

Ques. How to become a police officer?

Ans. To become a police officer candidates should note that they should be Indian citizens, Apart from that candidates should be clear about their education as per the requirement and after completing the training period candidates can become a police officer.

Ques. What is the package of crime scene investigators?

Ans. The package offers to the crime scene investigators is lying between the INR 6 LPA to INR 12 LPA depend on the experience level.