Kochi City Police

Kochi City Police (KCP), also known as the Ernakulam City Police, is the police agency of the Indian city of Kochi. The force is headed by a Police Commissioner, an IPS officer. The city police was reorganized as Metro Police force, on 1 April 1966, after forming City Corporation of Kochi.

In 1947, the Cochin State Royal Police was merged with Royal Travancore Police to form Travancore-Kochi State Police. After formation of Kerala, this force became part of Kerala Police. That time, the Kochi city had 3 police departments, namely Fort Kochi Police, Mattancherry Police and Ernakulam City Police. In 1960 when 3 municipalities was merged to form Kochi City Corporation, the force too was renamed as Kochi City Police.

The Kochi City Police is headed by a Commissioner of Police (CP), officially designated as the District Police Chief, Kochi City. The CP is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, typically holding the rank of Inspector General of Police (IGP) or Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). The Commissioner is assisted by Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs), with the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP). Each DCP is in charge of a specific area of responsibility: Law and Order & Traffic, Administration & Crimes. The Commissioner reports to the ADGP (law & order) of the state.

The incumbent Kochi City Police Commissioner is Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar, IPS.

“There are two Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) responsible for law and order supervision. The DCP (L&O and Traffic) is assisted by 6 Assistant Commissioners (ACPs), four for sub-divisions and two for traffic management. The city is divided into 4 sub-divisions, each headed by an Assistant Commissioner (ACPs). The Assistant Commissioners incharge of sub-divisions supervise police stations and units under them. The city has 27 police stations, each led by an Inspector of Police (IP) designated as Station House Officer. The city has also a Cyber Crime Police Station.

A Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) oversees the administration and special units of the city police. The DCP (Admin & Crimes) serves as the staff officer to the Commissioner of Police and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the City Police Office. The DCP supervises the functioning of the C Branch (District Crime Branch), District Special Branch, District Crime Records Bureau, and Narcotics Cell, Police Control Room, each headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police.

The Kochi City Traffic Police is responsible for traffic management and enforcement in the city. For operational purposes, the traffic wing is divided into two sub-divisions: Traffic West and Traffic East, each headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). Each sub-division consists of Traffic Enforcement Units (Traffic Police Stations), which are headed by Inspectors of Police.

The DCP (L&O Traffic) supervise its activities.