NEW DELHI: As per a recent standing order issued by the Delhi Police, Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs) and Station House Officers (SHOs) will now be required to undergo a mandatory “cooling-off” period before becoming eligible for reposting to the same positions, officials said.
According to the order, SDPOs will have to observe a cooling-off period of one year, while SHOs will have to undergo a cooling-off period of two years after completing their tenure. However, directly recruited Indian Police Service (IPS) and DANIPS officers posted as Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) have been excluded from this provision due to their comparatively short tenure, the statement added.
A Central Police Establishment Board (PEB) has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Delhi Police Commissioner, with the four senior-most Special Commissioners of Police as members. The board will decide all transfers and postings of Delhi Police personnel from one district or unit to another.
In the standing order issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha, detailed guidelines have been laid down for transfers and postings of police personnel, including ACPs functioning as SDPOs and inspectors posted as SHOs.
“SDPOs shall ordinarily have a fixed tenure of two years in a sub-division and a consecutive tenure of a maximum of four years, followed by a cooling-off period of one year before becoming eligible for posting as SDPO again. However, keeping in mind the short tenure of directly recruited IPS and DANIPS officers as ACPs, this criterion shall not be applicable to them,” the order stated.
It further added that SHOs shall ordinarily have a fixed tenure of two years at a police station and a consecutive tenure of a maximum of four years, followed by a cooling-off period of two years before they become eligible for posting as SHO again. The standing order also stated that the transfer and posting exercise shall be carried out bi-annually, preferably in January and July, so that a “Select List Panel” is always ready to avoid delays in meeting critical operational requirements.
As part of the screening process, the DCP (HQ-III), also referred to as DCP/Establishment/PHQ, will prepare a list of ACPs and inspectors who are not posted as SDPOs or SHOs, arranging them according to seniority. Posting of other inspectors available within a district will be done by the district-level PEB.