BENGALURU: Bengaluru’s five-commissionerate plan faces a major manpower challenge, with more than 5,000 of the 6,550 additional posts required for the new system yet to be sanctioned.
While the government has said decentralisation will strengthen law and order, crime control, traffic management and public safety in the city, police officials have raised concerns that inadequate manpower could undermine the effectiveness of the new system.
The state Cabinet on Tuesday approved the creation of five police commissionerates. Of the 6,550 additional posts sought for the five commissionerates, the Finance Department has so far approved only 1,022 posts. The city police are already facing a shortage of around 3,000 personnel.
Home Department officials said recruitment would be carried out in phases. Recruitment of civil police constables and CAR constables is currently underway. However, senior police officials said the ongoing recruitment may not immediately address the manpower requirements of the proposed commissionerates.
A serving senior police officer said decentralisation could improve supervision and make it easier for citizens to approach senior officers. However, the officer cautioned that the effectiveness of the new system would become clear only after its implementation.
The government has been introducing several policing initiatives and public awareness programmes to improve policing and traffic management. However, officials believe such measures will have limited impact unless they are backed by adequate manpower.
While the government has proposed restructuring the city police system in line with the GBA, experts said administrative restructuring alone would not address the challenges faced on the ground.
A retired IPS officer, speaking on condition of anonymity said, “The GBA is primarily an administrative and civic governance structure, whereas policing is a specialised function involving law and order, crime investigation, traffic management and public safety. The two systems cannot be directly compared. Any restructuring of the police should be based on policing requirements rather than merely matching the GBA structure.”
The officer added, “Bengaluru is a large and complex city, and decentralisation can certainly improve supervision and accessibility. However, I do not think the city necessarily needs five commissioners. Two or three well-structured commissionerates, backed by adequate manpower and strong coordination, could be sufficient to manage the city effectively.”
