Moving away from a staffing framework framed in 1960, Maharashtra has revised its norms for police manpower and the creation of new police stations, linking their strength to crime levels, population and the nature of policing required in an area.

Under the new norms, new police stations outside the Brihanmumbai Police Commissionerate will be classified as A, B or C, with the category determining their manpower. The old framework, the government said, had become inadequate amid population growth, industrialisation and changing crime, including a rise in cybercrime.

The revision also follows the Bombay High Court directions to reconsider the state’s 2023 norms and frame a comprehensive policy on the creation of police stations and the manpower required for them. The revised proposal was submitted in October 2025.

Crime recorded in a proposed jurisdiction over past three years will be a mandatory criterion for a new station, which must also meet at least seven to eight prescribed conditions.

A-category stations will include district headquarters, major pilgrimage or tourism centres, and stations recording more than 400 offences under Parts I to V of the Indian Penal Code. B-category will cover taluka headquarters, stations recording 200 to 400 such offences, areas with more than 1,000 industrial workers, major railway stations and places needing frequent protest or crowd-management arrangements. C-category will cover those recording 150 to 200 offences.

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Manpower will also vary by jurisdiction. In a commissionerate outside Mumbai, an A-category station will have 166 personnel, and a B-category station 149. Under a District Superintendent of Police, the figures are 146, 134, and 100 for A, B, and C stations, respectively, including a 10 per cent reserve for leave, training and contingencies.

Mumbai is outside the classification. Citing high population density, migration and a changing crime profile, the government said all existing Mumbai police stations are already treated as A-category. The manpower ceiling for a new Mumbai station has been fixed at 362.

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The norms do not automatically increase manpower at existing police stations.

Gadchiroli and Gondia are also outside the classification because of their distinct Naxal-related policing requirements, with a separate manpower standard for new stations there.

The government said dedicated cyber police stations will have a separate staffing framework, with personnel holding specialised technical and IT qualifications, subject to Finance Department approval.

The GR does not specify how many new A, B or C-category stations will be created.