If you reside in a city in Gujarat, you are among 2.83 lakh people relying on a single police station. That’s the highest urban load per police station in India, says the India Justice Report. It is also nearly three times the national urban average of 93,107. Kerala follows with 2.30 lakh, and Maharashtra with 2.16 lakh people per police station.
These findings are part of the latest India Justice Report, which highlights sharp contrasts in how different states provide policing services in cities and towns. While Gujarat tops the urban load chart, rural areas show a slightly better picture, with each station serving 77,344 people, placing the state ninth in the national ranking. In comparison, West Bengal has one police station for over 3 lakh rural population.
The India Justice Report highlighted a stark disparity in the urban population served by a single police station across India. While a police station in a smaller state like Arunachal Pradesh caters to approximately 8,500 people, the figure in Gujarat is a staggering 2.8 lakh. As of Jan 2023, this concerning trend extended to nine states and Union territories, where the average urban population per police station exceeded 1 lakh.
Gujarat also lags in spatial access to police stations. In rural areas, one station covers 398 sq km, the fifth worst among large and mid-sized states. Rajasthan fares worst, with one station for every 647 sq km, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand (641), and West Bengal (402). Even in urban areas, Gujarat’s stations cover 60.2 sq km on average – only slightly better than Kerala at 64.9 sq m.
Training expenditure is another concern, according to the report. Gujarat reduced its police training budget from Rs 52.5 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 48.9 crore in 2021-22, of which 98.7% was utilised. The per-person training spend was Rs 5,476, significantly below the national average of Rs 8,343. It is the fourth lowest in the country. West Bengal tops the list, spending only Rs 125 per person, followed by Uttar Pradesh (Rs 5,373) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 5,430). The highest amount spent on training per personnel was Rs 20,530, which was in Bihar.
The report also looks at gender representation. Gujarat performs well at the constable level, with 15.3 women constables per police station, against the national average of 10.9 as of Jan 2023.