AN ORGANISED SET-UP
An organised form of policing was established by the British after the first war of freedom of 1857, with the adoption of the Indian Police Act of 1861. Delhi being a part of the Punjab, remained a unit of the Punjab Police even after becoming the Capital of India in 1912. In the same year, the first Chief Commissioner of Delhi was appointed and was vested with the powers and functions of the Inspector General of Police.

According to the 1912 Gazette, Delhi District was under the control of a DIG of Police with his headquarters at Ambala. The police force in the Delhi district, however, was commanded by a Superintendent and a Deputy Superintendent of Police. The total composition of the force then was two Inspectors, 27 Sub-inspectors, 110 Head Constables, 985 Foot Constables and 28 Sawars. In the city the rural police was in the charge of two Inspectors with their headquarters at Sonepat and Ballabgarh respectively with 10 police stations.

In the city there were three Iarge police stations of Kotwali, Subzi Mandi and Paharganj. In the Civil Lines, there were spacious police barracks where the Reserve, Armed Reserve and recruits were accommodated.

POST-INDEPENDENCE
Delhi Police was reorganised in 1946 when its strength was almost doubled. I n the wake of partition, a large influx of refugee population rolled in and there was a sharp rise in crime in 1948. It was on February 16, 1948 that the first IGP of Delhi was appointed and the total strength of Delhi Police was increased by 1951 to about 8,000 with one Inspector General of Police and eight Superintendents of Police. A post of Deputy Inspector General of Police was created in 1956. With the rise in the population of Delhi, the strength of Delhi Police kept on increasing and in the year 1961, it was over 12,000.

In the year 1966, the Government of India constituted the Delhi Police Commission headed by Justice G.D.Khosla to go into the Problems faced by Delhi Police and it was on the basis of the Khosla Commission Report that the Delhi Police was once again reorganised. Four Police districts, namely, North, Central, South and New Delhi were constituted. The Delhi Police Commission also recommended the introduction of Police Commissioner System which was eventually adopted from July 1,1978.

The population of Delhi and the attendant problems of policing kept on multiplying and following the recommendations of the Srivastava Committee, the strength of Delhi Police was increased to the present level of 57,497. At present, there are 3 ranges, 10 districts and 136 police stations in Delhi. Today, Delhi Police is perhaps the largest metropolitan police in the world, larger than London, Paris, New York and Tokyo.