VISAKHAPATNAM : Visakhapatnam District Police turns 163 years on Sunday. The district police was established in Visakhapatnam on January 28, 1861 and it covered the whole district, except Jeypore Zamindari.
Highlighting the many changes in the police establishment as well as in formation of new revenue and police districts in the Madras Presidency, which included the whole of the present Andhra Pradesh, historian Edward Paul told TNIE that the present police commissioner’s building was originally the quarters for the District Superintendent of Police. A site was acquired for it in 1908 and construction was completed in 1912. The present residence building of the DIG, Northern Range, was originally the property of a Madras-based shipping company, ‘Gordon Woodroffe & Co’ and was known as Elswood. It was acquired by the government for `48,500 in 1936. Till about 1990s, the DIG office was located in the Andhra University campus. For a brief period, Port Police was established at Bhimilipatnam and Visakhapatnam as per the Port Police Act. But in 1883, the entire marine police was abolished, Paul explained.
The first DIG for Northern Range was Captain Tennant. It was formed with its headquarters at Waltair. Four districts, Ganjam, Visakhapatnam, Godavari (consisting of most parts of both East and West Godavari districts of the present day) and Krishna (consisting of most parts of both Krishna and Guntur districts) were brought under Northern Range in 1861.
The railway police was brought into force in 1895. Initially, it was placed under the control of district SPs through which the railway lines were passing. But in 1896, the force was put under a DIG. Visakhapatnam at that point of time was the largest district in the whole of Madras Presidency, extending up to Rayagada in the north and including most parts of Jeypore Zamindari.
The head constables were the station house officers till 1905. The Indian Police Commission, constituted on July 9, 1902, recommended replacement of head constables with SIs as station house officers. It further recommended local recruitment of constables and training for them at central police schools. Accordingly, a Central Training School was set up at Vizianagaram in 1908.
In 1946, the Visakhapatnam Revenue District was bifurcated into Visakhapatnam North and South districts. They were reorganised with the formation of Vizianagaram district in 1979. The whole Visakhapatnam Revenue District was formed into one police district. This again was bifurcated in 1983 into Visakhapatnam Urban and Rural. Out of the Visakhapatnam Urban District, the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan area was formed into a Police Commissionerate in 1989.
