Cabinet nod for B’luru police force to split into 5 units

Bengaluru: The Karnataka capital is all set to have a decentralised policing shield, with the state cabinet Tuesday granting its approval to break down the city‘s single police unit into five commissionerates — Central, East, West, North, and South — under a newly upgraded chief commissioner of police (CCP).Designed to streamline response time and traffic management, the plan aims to deploy 1,022 new personnel alongside a strategic redeployment of the existing force to offset staffing shortfalls.The restructuring will broadly be on the lines of the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s (GBA) five city corporations.Under the plan, each commissionerate will be headed by a police commissioner of IGP or DIG rank and report to a chief commissioner of police (CCP). The existing city police commissioner’s post will be upgraded to CCP.Home minister Priyank Kharge said the move was aimed at improving response, crime control, law and order and traffic management in a city with a population of over 1.5 crore.The existing commissionerate has 11 divisions, 116 police stations and 53 traffic police stations.The proposal, submitted by Bengaluru police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh in Aug, came a year after GBA replaced BBMP, splitting the city’s civic administration into five corporations.The GBA model, however, has faced implementation hurdles. The five corporations have reported staff shortages, while concerns have also been flagged over funding, coordination, absence of elected councils, even as citizens continue to report problems with potholes, garbage, footpaths and drainage.In order to have five separate police commissionerates, there is a requirement of 6,550 additional personnel. The cabinet has shown the greenlight to 1,022 new personnel for now, with the remaining to be met through redeployment of existing personnel. In addition, 276 personnel have been sanctioned for 11 existing police stations, including those on the city’s outskirts.The original restructuring proposal had envisaged 6,633 additional posts and an expenditure of about Rs 765 crore.The new plan will see creation of six new ACP posts, with each ACP office having five executive posts.Personnel will also be redeployed from existing City Armed Reserve units (CAR), while a new CAR unit will be created for the East commissionerate.Points for info gfx:INSIDE THE REJIG* Central, East, West, North and South commissionerates to mirror GBA’s 5 city corporations* Each to be headed by an IGP/DIG-rank officer* Existing city police commissioner’s post to be upgraded to chief commissioner of police (CCP)* Five commissioners will report to CCP* Cabinet approves appointment of 1,022 new personnel* Another 276 personnel sanctioned for 11 existing police stations* Six new ACP posts to be createdYou Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bengaluru | Silver Rate in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru | Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Petrol Price in Bengaluru | Diesel Price in Bengaluru | CNG Price in Bengaluru | LPG Price in BengaluruStay updated with the latest Bengaluru news. Download the TOI App.