The Alathur police station in Kerala's Palakkad district has been recognised as the fifth-best police station in India by the Ministry of Home Affairs. This achievement came after the station was selected from among 76 police stations that reached the final stage of evaluation. The Ministry selected the top stations based on a variety of factors, such as the management of investigations, maintenance of law and order, infrastructure quality, and the conduct of police officers. 

Kerala Police announcing the achievement on its official social media handle noted that stations at Kutippuram in Malappuram district and Valapattanam in Kannur city were also recognised among the top 10 stations in the country in earlier years.

Annual evaluation 

The ranking of police stations across the country is an annual process conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is based on several key performance parameters, including crime rate, investigation quality, case disposal, closure rates, the use of CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems), enforcement actions, detection rate, recovery value, conviction rate, infrastructure, and public service delivery. The evaluation also looked at essential facilities like lock-ups and record rooms. Furthermore, it assessed how effectively stations handled crimes against women and children, grievance redressal, and public welfare initiatives.