A station house officer (SHO) is the officer in charge of a police station in India and Pakistan. The Station House Officer (SHO) is a police officer of such rank as may be fixed by the government who is entrusted with the overall supervision of the functions of each police station and that officer shall be the officer in charge of the police station. The SHO holds the rank of inspector [1] or sub-inspector. [2] A station house officer is not a rank, but rather a post or designation. In India, the law permits a station house officer to conduct the investigation of crimes. [3]
As of 1 January 2022, there are a total of 16,955 sanctioned police stations in India. [4] [5]
In some states in India, the SHO is also called the Officer-in-charge (OC), mostly in rural areas where a police station is headed by a Sub-inspector of police.
In West Bengal, mostly in urban or semi-urban areas, where a police station is headed by an inspector, is called the Inspector-in-charge (IC)
The Station House Officer:
The Mumbai Police is the police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of Maharashtra Police and has the primary responsibilities of law enforcement and investigation within the limits of Mumbai. The force's motto is "Sadrakṣaṇāya Khalanigrahaṇāya".
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch. The name derives from the CID of the Metropolitan Police, formed on 8 April 1878 by C. E. Howard Vincent as a re-formation of its Detective Branch. British colonial police forces all over the world adopted the terminology developed in the UK in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and later the police forces of those countries often retained it after independence. English-language media often use "CID" as a translation to refer to comparable organisations in other countries.
Law enforcement in India is imperative to keeping justice and order in the nation. Indian law is enforced by a number of agencies. Unlike many federal nations, the constitution of India delegates the maintenance of law and order primarily to the states and territories.
A police station is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
Tamil Nadu Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is over 150 years old and is the fifth largest state police force in India. Tamil Nadu has a police-population ratio of 1:632. The Director General of the Tamil Nadu police is Shankar Jiwal.
The West Bengal Police is one of the two police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal. The other being the Kolkata Police, which has a separate jurisdiction across Kolkata.
Kochi City Police (KCP), officially the Kochi City Police , is the police force of the Indian city of Kochi. The force is headed by a Police Commissioner, an IPS officer. The city police was reorganized as Metro Police force, on 1 April 1966, after forming City Corporation of Cochin. Kochi City Police is one of the most advanced police force, considering the strategic importance of the city.
Superintendent of Police (SP), also known as Deputy Commissioner in a Police Department, is a senior rank in the Indian Police Service (IPS) and of respective States' State Police Service (SPS), and a senior level post of the police service. They wear a star and an Ashoka emblem on their epaulettes with 'IPS' or 'SPS'(as in 'MPS' for Mizoram Police Service, 'KPS' for Kerala Police Service) below. The larger and more important districts in India are headed by a senior superintendent of police (SSP), while smaller districts are headed by a Superintendent of Police (SP). The administration of a Police district is vested upon the SP.
Gazetted officers include all the Indian Police Service officers which are Class I officers of the cadre and all State Police Services officers of and above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. All are arranged in a hierarchical order.
The Uttar Pradesh Police, , is the primary law enforcement agency within the Uttar Pradesh state of India. Established in 1863 as the Office of the Inspector General of Police, United Provinces under the Police Act, 1861. It is headed by Director General of Police (DGP).
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is the unit of Bangladesh Police responsible for law enforcement in the metropolis of Dhaka, the national capital and most populous city in Bangladesh. The DMP is the largest police force unit in Bangladesh. At present the DMP commissioner is Md. Khandker Golam Faruq BPM (Bar), PPM.
Hyderabad City Police is the local law enforcement agency for the city of Hyderabad, Telangana and is headed by the Commissioner of Police. The city police traces its origins to 1847 under Hyderabad State.
Pune City Police Department (PCPD) is the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over 790 km2 in the city of Pune, India. The city police is division of Maharashtra Police, i.e state police department of Maharashtra. The current Pune Commissionerate or Headquarters came into existence on 1 July 1965. Pune City Police Department operates from 30 police stations. It also has the responsibility of traffic policing the city roads.
The Thiruvananthapuram City Police is the police force of the city of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It has the primary responsibilities of law enforcement and investigation within the limits of Thiruvananthapuram. It is headed by the Police Commissioner of Thiruvananthapuram, who is generally an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer holding the IG rank. There is currently 24 police stations in the city. White Patrol and mobile units are in operation and their movements are supervised by marshal units.
Bidhannagar City Police, established on 20 January 2012, is a police force with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation and certain adjacent areas in Greater Kolkata. The Commissionerate is part of the West Bengal Police and is under the administrative control of Home Ministry of West Bengal. It was formed after bifurcation of the North 24 Parganas Police District, and has eleven police stations under its jurisdiction. Shri Gaurav Sharma is the current Commissioner of the Bidhannagar City Police. Shri Rajeev Kumar was the first commissioner of Bidhan Nagar City Police.
The Telangana State Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Telangana in India. It has jurisdiction concurrent with the 33 revenue districts of the state. The police force was created from the remnants of the Andhra Pradesh Police after Telangana state was formed. It is headed by the Director general of police, Anjani Kumar, and headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.
The Counter Terrorism Department (Urdu: سررشتہِ تحقیقاتِ جرائم ، پاکستان; CTD) formerly known as the Crime Investigation Department (CID), are crime scene investigation, interrogation, anti-terrorism, and intelligence bureaus of the provincial police services of Pakistan.
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.