For the love of uniform

Aprajita Monga

Do you aspire to be a part of police departments of various states or union territories directly? Or do you wish to be at a position in Central Paramilitary Forces such as BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, etc.? If this is your calling, then  MA in Police Administration is the right course for you. 

The course educates about the management of police affairs. It covers the entire network of institutions at the union, state as well as local level, engaged in the process of providing safety and security to the people and investigation of crime. Skilled and educated manpower is required in police agencies to meet the many challenges effectively. 

Foreign universities, all over the world, have already recognised the need to design courses for police administration. These are offering courses on police studies and criminology for quite some time. The courses are considered important keeping in mind the emerging security challenges faced by society. Indian universities have also started giving due importance to this discipline and many states have also come up with police universities which specialise in police administration in India. 

One such course was started by Panjab University in 2007 with the establishment of Centre for Police Administration, which at present offers MA, MPhil and PhD programmes. The MA in Police Administration at Panjab University is a two-year course. The course covers entire spectrum of police work and includes police administration, police procedure and  investigation technique, criminology, correctional administration, police psychology, law, forensic sciences and medicine, Indian constitution, private security management, and  terrorism to name a few. 

The students of the centre are attached with Chandigarh Police to give them a first-hand experience about the functioning of the police in the form of internships. Students are required to prepare field-work based project reports for successful completion of the MA course.  

ELIGIBILTY

Students applying to this course must have completed 

a) Bachelors in any of the social sciences disciplines with at least 45 per cent marks, or 

b) Masters in any of the social sciences disciplines, or

c) Bachelors in any discipline with at least 50 per cent marks.

The nominated in-service police personnel must  possess the above educational qualifications. They must be a regular employee of police department/ paramilitary forces, etc.

Number of seats: 46 in total. (30 open, 10 reserved for in-service police personnel, 6 NRI seats.)

Admission criteria

An entrance exam is conducted for admission to MA in police administration. The exam includes a written test as well as an interview . At the time of admission, 50 per cent weightage is given to the entrance exam and the rest 50 per cent is based on merit.  In-service police personnel are exempted from this exam. They are admitted on the basis of their marks in the qualifying examination.

Job prospects 

Entry to police agencies at the union and state level is through competitive exams. However, candidates with a degree in police administration get an edge over others at the interview level. Theoretical and practical exposure makes the chances of cracking the interview better. 

The MA in police administration at Panjab University covers a course on private security as well. The private security industry needs manpower and graduates can also opt to take this route after the course completion. 

In-service police personnel, who have graduated from this course, can even expect a promotion in their organisation.

Remuneration

The constable post in various police departments across different states and in CPMFs lies in pay band 1 and the salary is between Rs 15,600 to Rs 60,600. The sub-inspector and inspector posts are also in pay band 1 which offers remuneration between Rs 15,600 to Rs 60,600. The DSP and the assistant commandant post in the CMPFs are in pay band 3 and one can expect around Rs 46,800 to Rs 11,7300. A commandant in the CMPFs and the DGPs earn between Rs 1, 12,200 to Rs 2, 01,000 as these ranks are in pay band 4. 

This course is right for people, who love adventure and are also interested in outdoor physical activities. Becoming a part of security forces in our country is a dream come true for many and this course could be a step in that direction. 

Institute watch

1. Centre for Police Administration, Panjab University, Chandigarh

2. Raksha Shakti University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

3. Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

4. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University of Social Sciences, Madhya Pradesh

5. Maharaja Ranjit Singh Police Academy, Phillaur, Punjab (distance mode)

6. Annamalai University, Chennai (distance mode)

7. Global Open University, Nagaland (distance mode)