Delhi Police is grappling with significant staffing shortages across all ranks, raising concerns about law enforcement effectiveness and public safety in the capital.
Key Points
- The Delhi Police has approximately 14.5% of its sanctioned strength vacant, impacting overall operational capacity.
- A significant number of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) positions are vacant, potentially affecting leadership and strategic decision-making.
- Delhi Police is implementing measures to strengthen law and order, including increased visibility and targeted crime prevention strategies despite staffing challenges.
- Cyber police stations are functional in all 15 police districts of Delhi, enhancing the force's ability to tackle cybercrime.
- Reported cases of crime against women, children, and the elderly have seen a slight decrease over the past three years, according to Delhi Police data.
The Delhi Police has a vacancy of about 14.5 per cent of its sanctioned strength, with 152 posts out of 346 - nearly 44 per cent - lying vacant at the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) level.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that against a sanctioned strength of 97,331 personnel, 14,140 posts were vacant as of March 12, 2026.
Of these, 13,958 vacancies are at the constable to inspector level against sanctioned posts of 96,817, accounting for about 14.4 per cent of the sanctioned strength in the category, while 152 posts out of 346 are vacant at the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) level, translating to a vacancy of about 43.9 per cent.
At the level of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police and above, 30 posts are vacant out of 168, which is around 17.9 per cent of the sanctioned strength.
Delhi Police Initiatives
The minister said that adequate staff, women help desks, and modern resources are available in all police stations of Delhi.
He added that cyber police stations are functional in all 15 police districts of the national capital.
Rai further said that Delhi Police has taken several measures to strengthen law and order, including dynamic identification of crime-prone areas and deployment of police resources such as pickets, foot patrolling, PCR vans and emergency response vehicles to enhance visibility and prevent crime.
Other measures include identification, surveillance and arrest of active criminals, integrated patrolling by local police, PCR staff and traffic police, and community policing programmes, he said.
Crime Statistics in Delhi
Also, as per data, cases of crime against women stood at 13,208 in 2023, 13,195 in 2024 and 12,458 in 2025, while cases involving children were 7,769, 7,636 and 7,413, respectively, during the same period.
Crimes against the elderly were recorded at 1,361 in 2023, 1,267 in 2024 and 1,227 in 2025.
