DSP - Deputy Superintendent of Police

The Deputy Superintendent of Police is one of the most important and prominent jobs of India. These are the state-level police officers who are so important because they work for the betterment of the state and take hard responsibilities such as maintaining the law and order and prevent crime. It is not easy to be a policeman in India as in every post, and there is a focus on your mental as well as your physical abilities. Still, as the people who dare to serve their country and want to help in reducing crime, this is the best job for them. In this discussion, we will see what DSP is and what responsibilities they have.

In image, Hema DAS (while taking oath as the first female DSP of Assam)

Who is DSP?

Deputy Superintendents of Police are the higher grades police officers who work for the State Police Force. They have equal power as the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). In many states like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, they are commonly known as or posted as Circle Officers (C.O.). In the state of West Bengal, a DSP takes charge of the subdivision and is mostly known as the Sub-divisional Police Officer or SPDO. These rank officers are senior to assistant superintendent officers but junior to the Superintendent of Police. The DSP is a rank used in several countries (like India and Singapore) formed by the British Empire and is the police force post in the commonwealth.

Role of DSP in the Police Force

The DSP is the subordinate officer to the superintendent of Police; he assists the S.P. and also manages these all work for the police departments, such as preventing crime, managing police stations, controlling investigations, etc. The main roles & responsibilities of a DSP are as follows;

• If he is charged as the sub-division DSP, he has to manage two or more than the two police stations. He has to keep an eye on all of the activities there.
• He is responsible for the prevention of crime. He has to develop new ideas about how he can manage the crime.
• The supervision of all the cases and all the related investigations are his responsibility. He visits all the crime scenes by himself and takes care that the investigation should be done properly.
• To create the good maintenance of law and Order is also his duty, and they are free to take action against the people who don't follow them; it doesn't matter if they are from his own team or the common public. Sometimes this creates tension between the public or their own team members.
• To take care that all the local and special laws are followed well is also the responsibility of the Deputy Superintendents of Police.
• He takes charge to fulfill all security duties related to the public or the traffic.
• He also focuses on all the traffic regulations and focuses on who is to be posted at which area and playing what role.
• Manage large-scale arrangements is also one of the main duties of DSP. For example, if there is any big arrangement or some event is going to be held in the area, a DSP's duty to take care of all things are right or not, and no criminal or crime affects the event.
• He also works to create community relationships and manage the peace between the public and the management.

It seems so easy to be the boss or on the top authority. Still, the reality is just the opposite about the senior posts. You have to manage all the disciplines and focus on all the people working properly and feel comfortable and have a safe environment at work. A huge responsibility of safety and security is always on their shoulders, and sometimes they don't hesitate to sacrifice their lives while doing their work and duties.

The eligibility required to be the DSP

The Deputy Superintendents of Police is the post of responsibilities, so it is important to be careful while selecting one. Here are few most important criteria that are required to become DSP or equivalent level police officer;

• The one is applying to be the DSP must be an Indian Citizen(born in India)
• The candidate must be 21-30 years old for working at this post. The increment of 5 years in the age can be accepted for ST/ SC candidates.
• The one who is applying should be graduate from one of the well-known institutes of recognized universities with any stream.
• The male candidate must be at least 168 cm in height, whereas females must be greater than 155 cm.

Selection process of DSP:

Mainly a DSP must have to clear a PCS (provincial civil services), but sometimes there might be more ways, when it comes to selecting a DSP, there are two ways by which they choose a DSP.

1. You have to clear the State's PCS Exam, and when you get selected, you have to undergo training at Police Academy or Training Center, etc. Now you're the Direct DYSP.
   Or
2. You have to become PSI first. Only then, If you get chosen for the promotion to P.I. and DYSP (Most of the officers do qualify this much) as per the State Rules, you will reach the Rank of DYSP by around the last phase of your service, but this is a really long process.
3. Few people are selected as The Deputy Superintendents of Police by the sports quota, so this may be profitable to you if you are a sportsperson.
4. Sometimes an IPS officer may also be posted as a DSP (Deputy Superintendents of Police) or ACP (assistant commissioner of Police) for some time. Still, they later get prompted as SP (superintendents of Police).

What is the difference between a DSP and an ACP?

The difference between Deputy Superintendents of Police and Assistant Commissioner of Police is not much as they both are similar. Still, the only difference between them is in the vocabulary based on the Commissionerate System.

The metropolitan areas like Mumbai, Delhi, Guru Gram, etc., have a commissioner system. They have an Officer known as ACP or assistant commissioner of police. In contrast, the non-metropolitan areas like Ghaziabad, Karnal, etc., have a non-commissionerate system and have an officer with the same eligibility known as Deputy Superintendents of Police or DSP/ASP (assistant superintendent of police).

What is the salary of a Deputy Superintendent of Police?

There are many different salaries of DSP depending on different states; for example, a DSP gets 57-62 thousand per month in Chhattisgarh, and in Madhya Pradesh, a DSP gets a yearly package of 8 to 9 lakh, but if we talk about the average salary of DSP on a national level, it is nearly 47,036 per month in India.

Other advantages of being a Deputy Superintendent of Police

DSP not only gets an amazing salary but also has a very high chance of getting promotions, also are the highly respected persons in the society. They also get lots of facilities as a DSP such as;

• They get a residence for themselves and their family and a staff quarter with no cost or rent.
• They get a security guard, cook, and domestic help for them which are already paid for by the government.
• They also get a driver and an official vehicle which is already serviced and is in well-working condition.
• A telephone that the government pays for the bill also be there for them.
• If something happens to them, their spouses are also paid by the governments with a fixed pension.
• The governments pay all their bills like electricity and water tax.
• The government affords all the traveling they made as an official visit to get all the first-class or high-class tickets and facilities.
• The leaves they take to study something are paid, and the government affords all the expenses on their studies.

All these facilities they get in their job period is less in front of what they do for us as this is a hard job, but these facilities make their expenses very less, and this is why a large number of candidate every year try to get this job and work very hard for it so there is a great competition for being a DSP.

Promotions of the DSP

There is a hierarchy of the promotion of a DSP; all these promotions are done by the Departmental Promotion Committee in which the chairman of the commission selects by following the rules of the State Government, it is as follow-

• Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) is promoted to the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP)
• The ASP (Additional Superintendent of Police) is promoted to the Superintendent of Police (S.P.)
• Later, the S.P. or the Superintendent of Police are promoted to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)
• And the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) are promoted as the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP)
• Later, with very good results, the Deputy Inspector General of Police or the DIGP was promoted into the Inspector General of Police (IGP)
• If the luck works, the IGP gets promoted as an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), which are in the future get selected as the highest post of Director General of Police (DGP)

The rank of Deputy Superintendents of Police in Singapore

Like India, In Singapore, there is also a rank of Deputy Superintendents of Police, but it is the highest job attained by any police officer. There is also a rank of acting Deputy Superintendents of Police which are not the DSP or posted as the DSP but just temporary officers selected for a short duration. NPCC officers who own the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police have a silver braid on their cap's peak (for males) and bowler's hat (for the females). The powers to the Deputy Superintendents of Police and Acting Deputy Superintendent of Police are exactly the same. They both wear a Singapore Coat at their arm on the single pip.

Conclusion

A post of Deputy Superintendents of Police is not such an easy post as when you work as a DSP, you have a number of enemies, you face such a hard life, and even you stay away from your family most of the time. You risk your life for the common people of your country and sometimes even face hatred because you are trying to do something which is not right according to the people because it may create hardship for corrupt people or criminals and can cost your life.

AS a country, India has corrupt and wrong people in their every department, who even after getting lots of facilities and handsome salary are working and supporting criminals for just some money. When you work against these people you earn enemies at your own work and as a policeman, DSP faces this kind of people at their workdays, and this is the main reason why we need to pay respect to their work and support them by following few rules and not teasing or creating issues for them.

They may get several facilities, but we still can never neglect them because they are working for our safety and security. They are highly educated and have families. Still, without being selfish, they work with complete honesty and hard work for their country, making them brave and great. So next time when you see an officer, pay respect to them.