Thiruvananthapuram: While the state police announce and implement several new popular initiatives, a severe shortage of personnel is affecting their functioning. More than 5,000 vacancies across various posts remain to be filled. There are over 2,500 vacancies from the posts of Civil Police Officer to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) alone. Other vacancies are spread across various battalions.

Even major police stations in Thiruvananthapuram city, which registers the highest number of cases in the state and also handles VIP duties, do not have adequate personnel. Officers say the excessive workload leaves them with little time to spend with their families or even have meals on time.

Although the government claims that vacancies in the police force are filled on time, not all vacancies are completely filled. At present, the police are also focusing heavily on initiatives such as ‘My Police Station’ and ‘Operation Toofan’.

Although drugs worth crores of rupees have been seized, the shortage of personnel is hampering the completion of follow-up procedures. As part of the Student Police Cadet programme, police officers are required to visit schools twice a week. This is proving particularly difficult for stations that are responsible for more than one school.

There is also a shortage of personnel for patrolling, court duties, VIP escorts and routine station work. Although there are directives to strengthen beat policing, many stations do not have enough officers for this either. As the number of cases increases every year, there have been calls not only to fill the existing vacancies but also to increase the sanctioned strength of the police force.

Major posts and existing vacancies

• SP (Non-IPS) – 5

• DySP – 20

• Inspector – 38

• SI – 573

• ASI – 262

• Senior CPO – 645

• CPO – 988