Archive · 19 Aug 2026
Maharashtra Links Police Station Staffing to Crime Levels
Maharashtra is changing how many police officers work at each police station.
The old rules were created in 1960.
Officials said those rules no longer matched population growth, industrialisation and changing crime.
The new rules will consider how much crime happens in an area.
They will also consider the local population and the kind of policing needed.
New stations outside Mumbai will be placed into A, B or C categories.
An A-category station will have 166 personnel, while a B-category station will have 149.
The changes also follow directions from the Bombay High Court.
Maharashtra has revised police manpower and police-station creation norms.
The new framework considers crime levels, population and local policing needs.
New stations outside the Brihanmumbai Police Commissionerate will be classified A, B or C.
An A-category station outside Mumbai will have 166 personnel, while a B-category station will have 149.
The revision follows Bombay High Court directions to replace the state’s 2023 norms with a comprehensive policy.
- Who
- The Maharashtra government and police authorities are revising the manpower framework.
- What
- The state has introduced revised norms linking police-station categories and staffing to crime, population and policing needs.
- When
- The revised proposal was submitted in October 2025; the articles do not state when the new norms take effect.
- Where
- Across Maharashtra, with the new station categories applying outside the Brihanmumbai Police Commissionerate.
- Why
- The earlier framework dated to 1960 and was considered inadequate because of population growth, industrialisation and changing crime, including rising cybercrime; the Bombay High Court also directed the state to reconsider its 2023 norms.
- Old framework
- The previous police manpower framework was created in 1960.
- New criteria
- Crime levels, population and the nature of policing required in an area.
- Station categories
- New stations outside the Brihanmumbai Police Commissionerate will be classified as A, B or C.
- A-category staffing
- 166 personnel in an A-category station outside Mumbai.
- B-category staffing
- 149 personnel in a B-category station outside Mumbai.
- Proposal date
- The revised proposal was submitted in October 2025.
- Court involvement
- The Bombay High Court directed Maharashtra to reconsider its 2023 norms and frame a comprehensive policy.