The Need for Contemporary Urban Policing

For decades, as Bhubaneswar rapidly expanded as the state's administrative capital and Kataka grew as one of its very important commercial centre; the need for a modern, agile, and specialized urban policing architecture became increasingly vital. The traditional policing system has its limitations when dealing with the complex challenges of rapid urbanization, population influx, and new-age crimes of urban centres.
The conceptual journey toward a dedicated urban policing framework began intensively in the late 1990s. Recognizing that modern metropolitan areas require a single, streamlined chain of command and equipping the police officers with better legal wherewithal as well as holding them accountable; a comprehensive conceptual design and the initial draft of the Odisha Urban Police Bill were formulated and submitted to the State Government in May 1999.

Legislative Journey and Consensus

The path to structural reform was built on thorough research, study of other existing Police Commissionerate systems and deliberate legislative scrutiny. After a series of discussions in the Home Department and vetting by the Law Department, the Odisha Urban Police Bill, 2003 was introduced in the Odisha Legislative Assembly on April 4, 2003, and was referred to a Select Committee. To ensure the new framework met the highest standards, a delegation of the Select Committee visited Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi to study the functioning of existing metropolitan Commissionerate firsthand. After four detailed sittings, the committee submitted its report on October 21, 2003, recommending key improvements to the Bill.
Following intensive deliberations and subsequent recommendations by the Select Committee, the state's lawmakers engaged in detailed discussion that continued uninterrupted for nearly 16 hours on 10th and 11th November, 2003. The Legislative Assembly successfully passed the landmark bill, which was then sent to His Excellency, the Governor of Odisha for assent.
The Bill was subsequently sent to the Government of India for the assent of His Excellency, the President of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India working closely with the State Government fine-tuned the bill and incorporated the finer nuances and finally, the Bill received the assent of the President of India on September 24, 2007, translating years of deliberate planning into law.
Widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive and progressive urban policing legislations in the country, the Act was notified by the Law Department vide Notification No.11798-Legis dt.15.10.2007 as the Odisha Urban Police Act, 2003 (Odisha Act 8 of 2007) on October 15, 2007 and was published in Extraordinary Odisha Gazette No.1949 dtd.15.10.2007. Following this, through Home Department notification No.60886/D&A dated 28.12.2007, the State Government officially established the unified Police Commissionerate for the twin cities of Bhubaneswar, Kataka, and their contiguous areas, taking effect on January 1, 2008.
Marking the beginning of this new era, Sri Binay Kumar Behera, IPS was appointed as the first Police Commissioner of the twin cities.

A New Era of Public Safety

Since its historic inception, the Commissionerate Police has evolved from a newly formed urban policing unit into a cutting-edge law enforcement institution. Today, it stands as a testament to institutional modernization while constantly adapting its strategies, leveraging smart technologies, and broadening its community outreach to safeguard the lives and dignity of millions across the twincity region.