From no recruitment to deaths, Covid-19 hit Mumbai police force hard

A cop collects fine from people without masks near Vakola. File pic

The Covid-19 pandemic has badly impacted the Mumbai police force with around 1/5th of posts lying vacant as the recruitment process could not be held for the past two years. In fact, police recruitment has not been held since 2018. Most of these vacancies belong to the constabulary section, the backbone of policing in the city. Of the 46,212 sanctioned posts in the city, 8,747 were vacant till the end of 2021.

Mumbai city has a population of around 1.50 crore whereas the Mumbai police have 46,212 posts, of which around 75 to 80 per cent is the constabulary. Right from patrolling, administrative work to detection, constables play a very important role in city policing.

Gap widens

"Every month around 100 to 150 cops retire from the service, which makes 1,200 to 1,500 cops a year. To compensate for this gap, police recruitment is held at regular intervals, but as no recruitment was held, the gap has widened," said a senior police officer adding that the dwindling numbers are affecting policing in the city.

As per the data released by the Mumbai police in Annual Press Conference 2021, the city has 8,747 vacant posts which include 7,234 constabulary staff, 236 police inspectors, 182 assistant police inspectors, and 908 sub-inspectors. This has become a cause for concern for the top brass.

Explaining the situation, Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale said, "No police recruitment has taken place since 2018, which has resulted in the vacant posts. Recently, recruitment for the year 2018 for 1,076 posts has been conducted. We will get these men soon. More recruitment will be held as every single cop counts in cities like Mumbai."

126 cops succumbed to Covid-19

Since March 2020, when the pandemic hit, 126 cops have died due to Covid till date. In the first and second waves, 123 cops succumbed to the infection, whereas the third wave claimed the lives of three cops. Of the deceased, 39 were officers and 87 were constables.

Disciplinary action

Action taken against erring personnel has also led to a decrease in numbers. In 2021, 2,583 cops faced disciplinary action. Of them, 2,437 cops got administrative punishment, 81 were suspended, 32 were dismissed from service while 33 were removed from the police force. In addition, one policeman was given compulsory retirement.

Vacant posts
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP)2
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP)33
Inspector 236
Assistant Police Inspector (API) 182
Police Sub Inspector (PSI) 908
Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI)152
Constable 7,234