The Headquarters of Kerala Police Department is at Thiruvananthapuram.
The first DGP of Kerala Police is T. Ananthsankar Iyer.
The motto of the force is 'Mridhu bhava dhrida krthye' (in Sanskrit) which means 'soft in temperament, firm in action'.
Kerala Police Act was enforced in 1960.
The kerala police department is headed and controlled by Director General of Police (DGP).
The State Police Headquarters is the place of work of the State Police Chief.
The foundations of modern police system came in 1835 in Travancore during the period of Swathi Thirunal.
Travancore's Royal Nair Brigade (Earlier known as Travancore Army) was given the duty of keeping the internal law and order, by a special section called Sudarshana Sena (Guards).
In 1881, the Sudarshana Sena was reorganised and a new Police Department known as Royal Travancore Police (RTP) came into force.
Oliver. M. Bensly is the father of Modern Kerala Police. Royal Travancore Police was started under the leadership of O.M Bensly. O.M. Bensly became the first Superintendent of Police for the state of Travancore in 1881
The first Inspector General of Police of Travancore is Khan Bahadur Sayyid Abdul Karim Subrawardy (1938).
Police Department was setup in Cochin in 1884. The first Superintendent of Police of the Cochin State is George Gunther. The department is also known as Cochin State Royal Police (CSRP).
The state of Cochin got its first Inspector General of Police (IGP) in 1942. The IGP of Malabar was based at Madras.
Oldest Para Military force in India is Malabar Special Police (MSP). In 1884, a special punitive force was organized by British Army known as Malabar Special Police-1 (MSP) and Malabar Special Police-2 (1921).
The first Commandant of MSP is Hitchcock.
In 1956, Malabar Special Police was divided into two parts, one going to Madras State and the other coming to Kerala.
Today, the Malabar Special Police (MSP) is a paramilitary unit of the State Police of Kerala.
N. Chandrasekharan Nair is the first Inspector General (IG) of Police. He took the responsibility on 21 August 1948. He also served as Inspector General of Police after the union of Travancore and Cochin, in 1952. He was later appointed as I.G after the formation of Kerala State in 1956.
Organisation of Force
The law and order forms the most important portion of state force's personnel. For this, The Police department is divided into 2 zone, the North zone and South zone, each headed by Additional Director General of Police.
Each zone is split into two ranges, each of them are headed by Inspector General of police.
Kannur Range and Thrissur Range comes under North Zone, whereas Kochi Range and Trivandrum Range comes under South Zone.
The five commissionerate are Thiruvananthapuram City Police, Kochi City Police, Kozhikode City Police, Kollam City Police and Thrissur City Police.
There are 40 police sub divisions, 190 circles, 433 police stations, 9 traffic police stations and3 women police stations are functioning in Kerala.
Kerala Police Academy
Kerala Police Academy is the largest police training centre in Asia.
Kerala Police Academy (Ramavarmapuram, Thrissur) was established in the year 2004.
The Academy conducts long-term courses for SI, constable, women constable, police drivers and constables for kerala police telecommunication wing.
The academy also conducts short-term and in-service courses for various ranks.
Police Training College located at Trivandrum was begun in 1958.
Various Agencies of Kerala Police
The Criminal Intelligence Bureau, also called as Kerala State Crime Records Bureau manages and study crime statistics in kerala.
A well equipped Forensic Science Lab was functioning in the Kerala Police Headquarters campus since 1961.
The Forensic Lab at Thiruvananthapuram has 11 divisions such as Ballistics, Biology, Serology, Chemistry, Explosives, DNA, Documents, Cyber Forensics, Documents-Civil, Physics and Polygraph.
Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell (HTCEC) is situated at Kerala Police Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram district.
The HTCEC was constituted on 5th May, 2006.
Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell is an official cell managing Cyber Crime cases and other technical crimes.
The Hi-Tech Cell is working as the Petition Enquiry Branch for the Cyber Police Station.
Cyber Crime Police Station have jurisdiction all over the state of Kerala. It investigates any offense committed under the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008 (Central Act 21 of 2000).
The first Cyber Police Station of Kerala is Trivandrum.
Highway Police & Highway Alert System was introduced in the Kerala Police in 2002.
Anti Piracy Cell was formed in 2011.
There are 8 Police Bands in the States. Seven of them are with the 7 Battalions of Armed Police whereas one Band is with AR Camp of Thiruvananthapuram City.
Kerala Police has an exclusive Dog Squad situated at Thiruvananthapuram.
Pappu Zebra is the mascot of road safety campaign of the Kerala Police.
Coastal Police Stations
Kerala Police maintains 8 Coastal Police Stations. They are Vizhinjam (Tvm District), Neendakara (Kollam District), Thottappally (Alapuzha District), Fort Kochi (Ernakulam District), Azhikkode (Thrissur District), Beypore (Kozhikode District), Azheekkal (Kannur District) and Thalangara (Kasargode District).
Coastal Police Stations will fundamentally handles the security of the coasts and carry out the patrolling in the sea up to 5 nautical miles. The cases reported on the sea (in the Territorial Waters) will be investigated by the Coastal Police.
Woman Police
The first Woman Police Station started at Kozhikode in 1973. The first sub-inspector of this police station is M. Padmini Amma.
The first Woman Police force organised in India is Travancore (1939).
The first woman IPS officer is R. Sreelekha (1987).
State Women Cell is functioning at Thiruvananthapuram.
State Women Cell is headed by the Lady Superintendent of Police. In addition, One District Women Cell is also functioning in all Police Districts, each headed by a Woman Circle Inspector.
Smile
Smile (full form is Seamless Medical Intervention for Lifecare and Emergency) is a Kerala Police Department project.
The 'Smile' project is intended to bring down the accident death rate in state.
‘Smile’ involves providing training to traffic policemen in first aid and accident emergency care. It is a joint initiative of Home and Health Departments.
Armed Battalions of Kerala Police
Special Armed Police, Thiruvananthapuram
Malabar Special Police, Malappuram
Kerala Armed Police (KAP), Ramavarmapuram
KAP – II : Palakkad
KAP – III : Adoor, Kollam
KAP – IV : Kannur
KAP - V : Pathanamthitta
Special Rapid Action Force : Nilambur
Mounted Police
It is one of the oldest regiments of the Kerala Police.
Its founder is W.D. Kachen.
The Mounted Police are usually appointed for ceremonial purposes.
The Mounted Police is also appointed in Trivandrum City for night patrolling.
During British regime, it was known as Palace Guard.
India's first Tourist Police station is Fort Kochi. It is support center for tourists.
Special Units under Kerala Police
Crime Branch
CID Special Branch
Telecommunication Unit
Finger Print Bureau
Railway Police
State Crime Records Bureau
Forensic Science Lab and so on
Thunderbolts Kerala
It is the elite commando unit of Kerala Police. It performs perilous counter-terrorism, jungle-warfare, and hostage-rescue operations. Thunderbolts are a form of SPG and NSG, which are trained to take on air, water and land attacks.
Janamaithri Suraksha Project
Janamaithri Suraksha Project launched in March, 2008.
Only 20 Police Stations were selected for this project at the formation time.
As on today Janamaithri Suraksha Project is implemented in 478 Selected Police Stations.
It is a state wide community police security programme.
It seeks to develop closer ties between the police and the citizens.
This programme gives opportunities for the people to join hands with Police to fight crime as well as to improve the security of their neighbourhood.
The Student Police Cadet (SPC) is a school level student development project.
The first police station in Kerala to get ISO 9001 : 2008 certification is Kozhikkode town police station.
Operation Kubera is a programme by Kerala government to curb the blade mafia. It is against the illegal money lenders who charge exorbitant rates of interest and exploit the illiterate ordinary people.
Ranks of Kerala Police
Director General of Police (DGP)
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP)
Inspector General of Police/Special Inspector General of Police (IGP/SIGP)
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP)
Deputy Commissioner of Police/Superintendent of Police (DCP/SP)
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP)
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP)
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.SP)/Additional Superintendent of Police(ASP)
Police Inspector (Circle Inspector)
Sub-Inspector of Police (SI)
Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (ASI)
Senior Civil Police Officer (Police Head Constable (HC))
Civil Police Officer (Police Constable (PC))
The DGP and Additional DGPs are comparable in rank to a Lieutenant General in the army.
The Inspector General is comparable to a Major General.
The Deputy Inspector General is comparable to a Brigadier.
Police Commissioner/SP are comparable to Colonel.
Prisons in Kerala
The first Central Prison is Kannur (1869).
The Total Central Prisons in Kerala is 3 and they are Thiruvananthapuram, Viyyur (Thrissur) and Kannur.
The largest prison in kerala is Thiruvananthapuram Poojappura Central Jail. In 1873, central jail at Trivandrum started functioning inside the fort building which was used as barracks for the Nayar brigade. In September 1886, it was transferred to Poojappura, Trivandrum.
The first district jail is Kozhikkode(1861). The prisoners convicted for 6 months are detained here. The first Open Prison is Nettukaltheri in Trivandrum. The second open jail is Cheemeni (Kasaragod).
The first women's prison was established in Neyyattinkara, Trivandrum (1989). The other women jails in kerala are Kannur and Viyyur.
There are total five district jails in kerala, they are Kozhikode, Trivandrum, Kollam, Ernakulam and Viyyur.
There are Sixteen Special Sub jails. The prisoners convicted for 1 to 3 months are detained here.
There are 16 Sub jails in Kerala.
State Institute of Correctional Administration (SICA)is meant for imparting training to personnel of the prison department. Its headquarters is Thiruvananthapuram.
Borstal School is the institution meant for housing adolescent offenders between the age of 18 — 21. Borstal School is situated at Thrikkakkara, Ernakulam.
Juvenile Homes
There are six juvenile homes in Kerala. Also 14 observation homes, one Balasadanam (certified as Juvenile Home) and 2 Special Homes are functioning in the State.
Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee look after the welfare of the inmates.
Only Juvenile Home for both girls and boys is located at Kakkanad, Ernakulam.
