While India reported a 10% increase in crimes in 2013, the country continues to be short of half a million policemen, a shortfall accentuated by more than 47,000 officers protecting 15,000 special protectees. According to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau, there is a shortage of policemen of nearly 23% across the country.
That is a huge gap for a country, which in any case had a ratio of policemen to people that was more than one and a half times lower than the globally accepted standard. While the United Nations recommended ratio is one policeman for every 450 people, India’s ratio is one policeman for 709 people. The National Crime Records Bureau report says that India faces a shortage of 0.5 million policemen. The current police strength is 1.73 million against the sanctioned strength of 2.24 million.
While India has 1 policeman for every 709 people, neighbouring Pakistan has a much better ratio of one per 483. Globally, Belarus has the highest number of police officers for its population with one policeman for 69 people.
The police-people ratio across states in India is also skewed. While North Eastern states like Mizoram and Manipur have 1 policeman for every 110 and 98 people, respectively, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have much higher ratios of 1,298 and 1,282, respectively.
Looking at the police density across states, Delhi and Chandigarh have the highest police density at 5,104 and 5,295 policemen per 100 square kilometres, whereas Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh have a low density of 11.8, 23.7 and 26.9, respectively.
While there can be many reasons for the surge in crimes, it is pretty clear that India needs to recruit sufficient policemen to ensure the safety of its citizens.
This post originally appeared on IndiaSpend.com, a data-driven and public-interest journalism non-profit.
That is a huge gap for a country, which in any case had a ratio of policemen to people that was more than one and a half times lower than the globally accepted standard. While the United Nations recommended ratio is one policeman for every 450 people, India’s ratio is one policeman for 709 people. The National Crime Records Bureau report says that India faces a shortage of 0.5 million policemen. The current police strength is 1.73 million against the sanctioned strength of 2.24 million.
While India has 1 policeman for every 709 people, neighbouring Pakistan has a much better ratio of one per 483. Globally, Belarus has the highest number of police officers for its population with one policeman for 69 people.
The police-people ratio across states in India is also skewed. While North Eastern states like Mizoram and Manipur have 1 policeman for every 110 and 98 people, respectively, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have much higher ratios of 1,298 and 1,282, respectively.
Looking at the police density across states, Delhi and Chandigarh have the highest police density at 5,104 and 5,295 policemen per 100 square kilometres, whereas Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh have a low density of 11.8, 23.7 and 26.9, respectively.
While there can be many reasons for the surge in crimes, it is pretty clear that India needs to recruit sufficient policemen to ensure the safety of its citizens.
This post originally appeared on IndiaSpend.com, a data-driven and public-interest journalism non-profit.
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