The ranks follow the British pattern, the only difference being that the State Emblem replaces the crown motif.

* State Emblem above one star above crossed sword and baton

o Director, Intelligence Bureau

* State Emblem above crossed sword and baton

o Director, Central Bureau of Investigation

o Director General, Central Reserve Police Force

o Director General, Border Security Force 

o Director General, Central Industrial Security Force

o Director General, Sashastra Seema Bal

o Director General, National Security Guards

o Director General, Special Protection Group

o Director General, National Police Academy

o Director General, Security

o Director General and Inspector General of Police, States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal

* One star above crossed sword and baton

o Inspector General of Police, Other States

o Commissioner of Police, Delhi

o Additional Inspector General, Bureaus

o Joint Director, Intelligence Bureau

o Additional Director, Central Bureau of Investigation

o Joint Director, Central Bureau of Investigation

o Commandant, Central Forensic Institute

o Director, National Police Academy

o Inspector General, Border Security Force

o Inspector General, Central Industrial Security Force

o Inspector General, Central Reserve Police

o Special Inspector General, Indo-Tibetan Border Police

* State Emblem above three stars in a triangle

o Inspector General of Police, Union Territories

o Other officer above selection grade

* State Emblem above two stars

o Superintendent of Police in selection grade

o Other officer on senior time scale with 15 years service or more

* State Emblem above one star

o Superintendent of Police in charge of a district

o Commandant of Battalion

o Other officer on senior time scale with between 10 and 15 years service

* State Emblem

o Other officer on senior time scale with 10 years service or less

* Three stars

o Assistant Superintendent in charge of sub-division

o Assistant Superintendent not in charge of sub-division with 5 years service or more

* Two stars

o Assistant Superintendent not in charge of sub-division with between 2 and 5 years service

* One star

o Assistant Superintendent not in charge of sub-division with less than 2 years service 

Ranks insignia of the State Police officers (which is distinct from Indian Police Service).

* Three stars

o Deputy Superintendent of Police. A state police officer who is directly recruited to this rank or has come up from the lower ranks.

* Red and blue ribbon and three stars

o Inspector of Police.

*  Red and blue ribbon and two stars

o Sub-Inspector of Police

*  Red and blue ribbon and a star

o Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police

* Three chevrons points facing downwards

o Police Head Constable

* Two chevrons points facing downwards

o Senior Police Constable or Police Naik. His/her basic pay would be of the same scale of a head constable.

* No rank insignia

o Constable

During the probation period you will undergo a year's on the job training in the office of a Superintendent of Police of a district in the State you have been allocated. On completing your two year probation, you will be confirmed as a three star Assistant Superintendent of Police (A.S.P.). You will then in all probability be posted as the Police Officer of a sub-division (SDPO) for two years till you are promoted to the Senior Scale.

As the SDPO, Superintendent of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police of a District and as Deputy Inspector General of a Range (group of districts), you will be exclusively responsible for the prevention and detection of crime. However, the law and order duties will be shared with your I.A.S. counterpart.

In cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, the law and order duties are the exclusive responsibility of the police force. In these cities the ASP, SP, and the DIG are calledAssistant Commissioner of Police (ACPO), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and Commissioner of Police (CP). 

Unlike I.A.S. Officers who cannot permanently serve the central government, some IPS dominated central agencies absorb the IPS Officers till they retire. The senior posts in the IPS are those of the Deputy Inspector General, Inspector General, Additional D.G. and Director General. These days many states have more than one IG and DG. However, there is only one Director General of Police (DG), who heads the police force of the State.

In 1948, a year after India gained independence; the Imperial Police was replaced by the IPS.

The Indian Police Service is an unchanged copy of The British Colonial Police Service it replaced; it is an elitist service and was designed for the dictatorship of Colonial domination. The pattern of unaccountable IPS officers with huge powers is very similar to those given by the German Third Reich to its officers who were sent to administer the occupied territories. The British Imperial Police Officers were in charge of a force to dominate the Indian people who were considered inferior. The British themselves in their own homeland had a very different police service which was set up to be accountable to the public with the emphasis as a service body. 

The IPS Examination

Meanwhile while most police forces promote their officers from the ranks. To be a senior officer in the IPS you have to pass a separate examination. This system was designed to ensure white British Officers occupied the top echelons.

The British ensured that young white officers who passed a exam would be able to administer and control districts with millions of inhabitants. These officers became part of an elite coterie of colonial administrators. Indians were given the subordinate non IPS ranks.

This system has continued via the Indian Civil service examinations where a group of people are given absolute power. There is no other model like it in the world. It is an undemocratic structure designed by foreign occupiers to control a subject population. The system is designed to control and rule rather than serve and be held accountable.

The system was devised in the United Kingdom for other populations, it was never deployed in the UK neither would it have ever been tolerated by the population. 

The IAS and IPS system was only for the colonial population. This system has no place in a democracy and some say that we must follow the example of most other countries where officers or all recruited in the lower ranks and only those which pass a series of exams, show merit show performance are promoted. The IPS system denies the opportunity for many thousands in the lower ranks to achieve the top rank in the Police.

THE INDIAN POLICE SERVICE (IPS) IS ONE OF THE THREE ALL INDIA SERVICES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA; OTHER TWO SERVICES BEING THE INDIAN ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE (IAS) AND THE INDIAN FOREIGN SERVICE (IFS).

In 1948, a year after India gained independence; the Imperial Police was replaced by the IPS.

The Indian Police Service is an unchanged copy of The British Colonial Police Service it replaced; it is an elitist service and was designed for the dictatorship of Colonial domination. The pattern of unaccountable IPS officers with huge powers is very similar to those given by the German Third Reich to its officers who were sent to administer the occupied territories. The British Imperial Police Officers were in charge of a force to dominate the Indian people who were considered inferior. The British themselves in their own homeland had a very different police service which was set up to be accountable to the public with the emphasis as a service body. 

The Police Act of 1861 is still the basis of the Indian Police today.

The Indian Police Service has been in existence since the Eighteen Hundreds.

=== Current Developments ===

1996-2006 Reforms ordered by the Supreme Court 

Prakash Singh, one of the former Directors General of Police of the States of Assam and subsequently Uttar Pradesh and finally DG of Border Security Force (BSF) , initiated a Public Interest Litigation (PLI) in the Supreme Court of India, asking the court to investigate measures to reform the Police Forces across India in order to have proper rule of law and a significantly improved security across India. Several measures were identified in order to professionalize the police in India:

* A mid or high ranking police officer must not be transferred more frequently than 2 years

* The state government cannot ask the police force to hire someone nor can they choose who the Chief Commissioner will be

* There must be separate departments and staff for investigation and a separate one for patrolling

3 new authorities will be created in each state, to prevent political interference in Police and also to make the Police accountable for their heavy-handedness, which will include the creation of:

* A State security Commission for policies and direction

* A Police Establishment Board, which will decide the selection, promotions and transfers of police officers and other staff

* A Police Complaint Authority, to inquire into allegations of police misconduct.

In 2006, due to a lack of action by all the state governments in India, the supreme court ordered the state governments to report to it why the reform measures outlined were not implemented. 

After being questioned in front of the judges of the Supreme Court of India, the state governments are finally starting to reform the police forces and give them the operational independence they need for fearless and proper law enforcement.