 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Deputy superintendent of police" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) is a rank used by several police forces in theCommonwealth and formerly in theBritish Empire. The rank is usually aboveassistant superintendent and belowsuperintendent.
The rank of deputy superintendent of police (DSP or DySP)[1] was created in 1876 as the policy ofIndianisation was introduced. It was originally a rank only held by Indians and was equivalent toassistant superintendent (a rank then only held by Europeans).
Deputy superintendents of police are officers who belong to theState Police Services (SPS) of the respective Indian states.[2] Officers are either directly recruited through the respectivePublic Service Commission examinations or promoted from lower ranks. Deputy superintendents of police can be promoted to theIndian Police Service (IPS) after several years of service which varies from 8 to 15 years depending on the state. Deputy superintendents of police are typically assigned the charge of a police sub-division under apolice district in the post of sub-divisional police officer (SDPO). In the states ofRajasthan andUttar Pradesh, the post is known ascircle officer (CO).
Under Indian law, a deputy superintendent of police may serve as the investigative officer (IO) in instances involvingterrorism,dowry deaths, atrocities againstscheduled caste, andcorruption.[3][4] The IPS rank ofassistant superintendent of police (ASP) is equivalent to the rank of deputy superintendent of police. In the commissionerate system, the equivalent post isassistant commissioner of police (ACP). The rank above deputy superintendent of police isadditional superintendent of police (Addl. SP) and the rank below isinspector.
The rank of deputy superintendent of police is the highest rank attainable by an officer in theNational Police Cadet Corps. The rank of acting deputy superintendent of police is vested onto NPCC headquarters appointment holders who have not actually attained the rank of deputy superintendent of police. The rank insignia of deputy superintendent of police and acting deputy superintendent of police is the same, with both wearing the Singapore coat of arms above a single pip.
NPCC officers who hold the rank of deputy superintendent of police have a single row of silver braid on the peak of their cap (for males) or bowler hat (for females).[5]