IPS: Indian Police Service 

IPS is the civil service that comes under the All India Services, it was formerly known as the Indian Imperial Police. IPS officers are employed by the Union Government as well as the state governments.

Training:

IPS officers are trained at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy which is situated in Hyderabad. Once the candidate is selected, he must undergo intense training and preparation for the role of IPS officer. 

Responsibilities:

The main purpose of the post of IPS is to safeguard the citizens of India. We will be discussing a few major responsibilities of an IPS officer in detail below:

  • IPS officers are required to serve both the central government as well as the state government. 
  • The primary duty of an IPS officer is to protect people and make sure there is law and order maintained in the country
  • IAS officers along with IPS officers helps in preventing crimes, controlling traffic, accident prevention and management, and crimes related to drugs.
  • The main duty of IPS officers is to lead Indian Intelligence Agencies such as the Research and Analysis Wing also called RAW, CBI (central bureau of investigation), Crime Investigation Department (CID), etc.
  • Other sectors where an IPS officer works on Railways by conducting railway patrolling.
  • IPS officers are given the special task of providing security to VIP officers and personnel for events and campaigns. 
  • IPS officers play a major role in investigating crimes and collecting data from the crime scenes.
  • Some IPS officers are allotted posts that deal with policy-making and making sure that the policies are implemented.
  • They conduct meetings with state ministers and government officials for discussing policies and schemes. 

Eligibility:

  • A candidate who is applying for the post of IPS officer must be a citizen of India.
  • He must clear the Civil service exam that is conducted by the UPSC.
  • The minimum age limit for the candidate is 21 years and the maximum age limit is 32 years.
  • The candidate must have a graduation degree from a known university. The university must be a recognized university.
  • For making the process easier, there are 6 attempts given to the candidate to clear the Civil Service exam.

IPS officer skills:

Becoming an IPS officer is a tough job that required years of hard work and commitment. The civil service exam is considered one of the toughest exams in India. The aspirant must take proper coaching and training to clear the exam with good grades.

Apart from being able to clear the exam in the given attempts, the candidate must also possess a few special skills. We will discuss the skills in detail below:

  • Decision-making ability: As an IPS officer, you must be always ready to face all types of situations. The job of an IPS officer is tough and delicate hence being able to make spot-right decisions will help serve the people.
  • Communication skills: this is the basic skill that an IPS officer must have, to deal with the public and other officials IPS officers must be firm as well as convincing. If the situations are unsafe, the communication skills of an IPS officer will help make peaceful dealing with the public.
  • Physically Fit: IPS officers are required to be physically fit and active, as the situations are not always in favor of the IPS officer, if he is physically fit then he can solve many problems that arise from the crimes related to bribery, thefts, etc. 
  • Building trust: IPS officers and officers of similar posts must have the ability to win the trust of the citizens. The more they can communicate, the easier it will be for the officer to know the needs of the public. If these officers are good at building a good rapport with the public then it will be easy for them to solve their issues and problems. 
  • Active Listening: being an active listener helps the officers to solve many problems. If the public comes to police officers for help, they tend to tell the crime and if you can listen to them properly then the citizens will feel empathized towards the situation. You will get many clues if you can listen to the problems properly. 
  • Problem-solving ability: this is the finest ability which is required by the IPS officer, he must be able to solve the cases in a logical ad most accepted manner. Especially when it is a complex case, problem-solving quality will be very helpful in this case.