Bengaluru City Police (BCP), also known as the Bangalore City Police, is the law enforcement agency for the city of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. It functions under the administrative control of the Government of Karnataka and is headed by a Commissioner of Police, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the rank of Additional Director General of Police. Seemanth Kumar Singh has held the post since 6 June 2025, having been appointed after his predecessor, B. Dayananda, was suspended following a fatal stampede at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
As of 2026, the force is organised into 11 law-and-order divisions and 4 traffic divisions, together covering 116 law-and-order police stations, 53 traffic police stations, 8 women police stations, 9 Cyber, Economic and Narcotics Crime (CEN) police stations, and the Central Crime Branch. In August 2026 the Karnataka government gave in-principle approval to a proposal splitting the single commissionerate into five smaller commissionerates aligned with the city's newly formed municipal corporations, a change that had not been implemented as of September 2026.
History
Policing in Bengaluru originated in the administrative arrangements of the Kingdom of Mysore, where local officials and traditional watch systems handled law and order. Organised policing developed under British administration in the 19th century, and after India's independence in 1947 the city's police came under the Government of Karnataka.
The Bengaluru City Police was formally constituted on 1 July 1963 as the first city police force in Karnataka, with C. Chandy as its first Commissioner.[citation needed] The force subsequently expanded through the creation of additional divisions, police stations, and specialised wings, including units for cybercrime, narcotics, and crimes against women and children, in response to the city's growth as a technology hub.
Organisational structure
The Commissioner of Police is assisted by Additional and Joint Commissioners of Police, who oversee law and order, crime, traffic, intelligence, and administration. Each of the 11 law-and-order divisions is headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and subdivided into sub-divisions under an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP); individual police stations are commanded by a Police Inspector.
The number of law-and-order divisions was raised from eight to 11 in 2024, when the state government approved three additional divisions — North West, South West, and Electronics City — alongside the existing Central, East, West, South, South East, North, North East, and Whitefield divisions.
Police stations by type
Type of police station
Number
Law-and-order
116
Traffic
53
Women's
8
CEN (Cyber, Economic and Narcotics Crime)
9
Central Crime Branch
1
Total
187
Ranks and Insignia
Gazetted officers
Senior gazetted officers of the Bengaluru City Police
The posts listed above are commissionerate designations; the rank attached to a particular post may vary according to the sanctioned post and the officer's cadre.
The Commissioner of Police (CP) is the head of the Bengaluru City Police.
Specialised units
The Bengaluru City Police maintains specialised units alongside its territorial police stations, including:
The Central Crime Branch (CCB), which investigates organised crime, financial fraud, and other cases beyond the capacity of individual stations.
Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO), a forensic unit responsible for evidence collection and crime-scene documentation.
The City Crime Records Branch (CCRB), which compiles and analyses citywide crime statistics.
The Central Armed Reserve (CAR), deployed for crowd control and additional manpower during large public events.
An Intelligence Unit responsible for internal-security monitoring and threat assessment.
Women's police stations, established to handle crimes against women.
A K9 Unit and a Mounted Patrol for tracking, detection, and crowd-management duties.
An Anti-Terrorist Cell that coordinates with state and national intelligence agencies.
Traffic management
The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) is organised into four divisions — East, West, North, and South — overseeing the 53 traffic police stations. Enforcement relies on an Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), including Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and Adaptive Traffic Signal Control (ATCS) cameras, alongside the ASTrAM mobile application for public traffic advisories.
Fine collection through automated enforcement rose sharply in 2025, with the BTP collecting a record ₹251.26 crore in traffic fines that year — nearly four times the ₹62.82 crore collected in 2024 — driven in part by two temporary 50 per cent rebate windows on pending challans.
Technology and surveillance
Under the Safe City Project, the BCP has deployed a network of CCTV cameras across arterial roads and public locations, coordinated through a centralised Command Centre and Control Room. The project has drawn international attention, including a visit by Dubai Police officials to study Bengaluru's Safe City infrastructure.
AI-assisted heatmapping and CCTV analytics have been used for crowd management during New Year's Eve celebrations. For New Year 2026, the force deployed 78 watchtowers across the city and extended Metro and BMTC services to manage crowd movement, with police personnel stationed on trains and buses until 3 a.m.
Emergency services
Emergency response is coordinated through the national 112 helpline (Emergency Response Support System), which dispatches police, fire, and ambulance services and has been used to rescue individuals in medical distress.
Women's safety is additionally supported through Safety Island, a network of 50 SOS-enabled kiosks installed at high-footfall locations under the Safe City Project; each kiosk connects directly to the police control room and is fitted with cameras and two-way audio. Some locations, such as Banashankari, have recorded disproportionately high SOS usage. The Karnataka State Police mobile application (KSP App) provides linked SOS alerts, online complaint filing, and a "Safe Connect" feature that over 150 citizens had used to seek help as of early 2026.
Cyber and financial fraud is handled through the national 1930 helpline. Additional dedicated helplines operate under the PARIHAR initiative: Vanitha Sahayavani (1091) for women, the Elders Helpline (1090), and the Child Helpline (1098), operated by CHILDLINE India Foundation. The Neravu project, under the Nirbhaya Scheme and the Safe City Project, installed 60 portable emergency assistance cabins across the city, primarily for women in distress.
Crime prevention and public safety
Preventive policing includes beat patrols, area domination exercises, and community-engagement programmes such as Mane Manege Police (police outreach at the neighbourhood level) and Friends of Police, a volunteer initiative supporting local crime prevention. During New Year celebrations the force typically deploys around 20,000 personnel citywide as part of coordinated public-safety operations.
2026 proposal to split the commissionerate
In a letter dated 1 August 2026 to the Director General and Inspector General of Police, Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh proposed dividing the single Bengaluru commissionerate — then covering 712 km2 with a sanctioned strength of 26,296 personnel — into five separate commissionerates (Central, East, West, North, and South), extending jurisdiction into parts of Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara districts and upgrading the top post to Chief Police Commissioner. The plan called for 6,633 additional posts at an estimated cost of ₹764.87 crore. The Karnataka cabinet subsequently granted in-principle approval to the proposal.
Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar publicly confirmed the restructuring during his Independence Day address on 15 August 2026, describing it as part of a broader decentralisation effort that also created the Greater Bengaluru Authority and five municipal corporations to replace the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. He said the city's policing infrastructure, originally designed for a population of around 1 million, was no longer adequate, and announced a related plan to form a dedicated Anti-Rowdy Squad.
The proposal drew criticism from IPS officers, some of whom characterised it as an attempt by the state administrative service to reduce the influence of the police service, and from the opposition BJP, which cited an estimated cost of ₹75,000 crore. Serving and retired officers gave mixed assessments in follow-up reporting: some argued that smaller commissionerates would allow more localised command and control, while others warned of added administrative layers, unresolved resource gaps, and risks to coordination during large-scale events. As of September 2026, no formal notification implementing the split, appointing new commissioners, or defining jurisdictional boundaries had been issued; the proposal remained approved in principle but not yet in effect.
Awards and recognition
In 2016–17, the Bengaluru City Police received the Innovative Use of GIS Technology award for its social-media and Namma-100 Command Centre initiative, and the Innovative Use of Mobile Technology award for its e-Lost & Found Report application.
In 2025, the force received the BluGreen Awards 2025 Certificate of Recognition under the Solid Waste sector for its contribution to environmental sustainability. It also placed third in the State Government institutions category at both the 217th Republic Day Flower Show (2025) and the 218th Independence Day Flower Show (2025) at Lalbagh, Bengaluru.
Leadership
The Commissioner of Police is the chief executive authority of the Bengaluru City Police Commissionerate, responsible for law enforcement, crime prevention, traffic management, and public safety within the city.[citation needed] The Commissioner reports through the Home Department of the Government of Karnataka, currently headed by Home Minister Priyank Kharge under Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, who took office on 3 June 2026 following a change of leadership within the state's ruling Congress party; his cabinet reassigned the Revenue and Sports portfolios to Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, who had previously held the Home portfolio.
