189. General duties of Circle Inspectors. [§ 12, Act V, 1861].
(a)A Circle Inspector shall be in charge of a circle as defined in regulation 4 and shall be responsible for the supervision, control and general efficiency of all police work and for the prevention and detection of crime therein. Under section 551 of the Code of Criminal Procedure he may exercise the same powers throughout his circle as an officer-in-charge of a police-station within the limits of his station. He shall reside in his circle and keep himself informed of what is going in his charge. He shall be responsible for the peace of the circle and for the proper performance of their duties by his subordinates, and in cases of failure or neglect it shall be his duty to initiate proceedings against defaulters in cases calling for major punishment. In proceedings against Sub-Inspectors and officers of lower ranks (except in cases of serious misconduct) he may record the evidence and defence and after giving his finding submit the proceedings to the Superintendent for orders.(b)One of his chief duties shall be to secure full and hearty co-operation between the officers of bordering police-stations, and by frequent meetings to impress on them that cannot be adequately dealt with without such cooperation. He shall also see that lists of criminals, both active and suspected, are sent to bordering police-stations.(c)He shall, from a study of the crime maps of the police-stations within his circle, and from an intelligent use of his index of crime, or note book of crime against property, ascertain the criminal areas in his circle and pay particular attention to them. He shall carefully study the diaries of all cases occurring in those areas, and satisfy himself that the Sub-Inspectors are concentrating their attention on them. Where necessary, he shall arrange for the proper patrolling of such areas both by the regular and the rural police, and shall satisfy himself, by frequent surprise visits, that his Sub-Inspectors and their subordinates are patrolling effectively. He shall also make prolonged visits to such areas, ascertain, whenever possible, the criminals who are responsible, and then frame a definite line of policy to be adopted, both for the prevention of crime in future by seeing that surveillance is effective and not nominal, and by instituting such other measures as the circumstances of the case indicate.(d)He shall see that warrants, proclamations and attachment orders are issued against absconders and that necessary steps are taken for their arrest.(e)He shall not ordinarily conduct investigations, but shall supervise, taking up cases only for very special reasons, such as mismanagement by the ordinary investigating officer or the unusual importance or intricacy of the facts. He shall take special note of the progress of important cases and be ready to assist in any investigation where his assistance is required. He shall see that each case is fully and properly investigated and that all possible steps are taken to ensure detection. In respect of the control he shall exercise over investigations, he shall act in direct subordination to the Sub-divisional Police-Officer and the Superintendent.(f)Where there is no Court Inspector he shall be responsible for the work of the Court Police.(g)Except in a town where there is a separate Town Inspector, ail Town Police in his circle are subject to his supervision and control. He is responsible that systematic arrangements are made for watch and ward, that these arrangements are properly supervised and that the officers are given an adequate number of nights in bed.Note. - An Inspector-in-charge of a town shall have the same responsibilities as an Inspector-in-charge of a circle in respect of supervision and control over the Town Police.(h)He should avoid being captious as regards petty faults which can be corrected by advice and guidance ; and he should endeavour by all legitimate means to gain the confidence and respect of his subordinates. He should in particular keep a watch on the work of junior and inexperienced officers and try to train them in the right path: he shall instruct them in the modus operandi of different classes of criminals, in the avoidance of the errors to which in his experience young officers are prone in preventive and detective work, and in the importance of local knowledge.(i)He must realize that he is responsible for the investigation of cases and that he must therefore not only take notice of but also himself correct all faults which he observes either from reading the diaries or when supervising enquiries on the spot. It is not enough for him merely to note an error for the information of the Superintendent, it is for him also to take action to correct it. He should also render all assistance possible to investigating officers by suggestions and advice, culled from the storehouse of his greater experience.Except in cases in which it may appear necessary to take immediate action or inflict punishment, he shall avoid calling for written explanations, but shall point out to investigating officers the mistakes and omissions they have made.(j)He shall be entirely without reserve towards the Superintendent and shall keep him informed of all matters connected with the police work of his circle.(k)He shall maintain close contact with Court Officers, whether the latter work in subordination to him or not. Whenever necessary, he shall discuss with them the evidence in any case, and shall be responsible for seeing that they are properly instructed on all relevant points. He shall bring to the notice of the Superintendent important cases in which the retention of the Public Prosecutor or Government Pleader appears to be desirable.Note. - Where the Circle Inspector and the Court officer have a common headquarters, the Superintendent shall arrange that their offices are situated as near to each other as possible.(l)In selecting cases for testing on the spot, he should particularly direct his attention to cases of house-breaking, and to riot, grievous hurt and other cases, which have been reported as false or non-cognizable.(m)He shall test by local enquiries the realization of fines and the enquiries as to absconders and serveilles.(n)He shall pay particular attention to the matter of surveillance over bad characters, in order to ascertain whether the right men are being looked after and shall satisfy himself, by local enquiry whenever necessary, that all active criminals, whether convicted or suspected, are under surveillance, and that the surveillance is effective and not merely nominal.(o)He shall look into the working of the Arms and Excise Acts.(p)He shall inspect the premises of all licensed dealers in arms and ammunition within his circle and examine their stocks and accounts once a quarter.(q)He shall inspect every large petroleum installation or storage shed at least once every year and shall forward a copy of his inspection report to the District Magistrate.(r)When visiting the mufassil he shall make notes of all items of intelligence which he considers should be entered in the Village Crime Note Book and shall satisfy himself that they are entered therein.(s)In forwarding the final memorandum to the Sub-divisional Police Officer he shall record his recommendations, if any, regarding surveillance and any remarks he may consider necessary on the conduct of the police, the failure of the case in Court, the inadequacy of the sentence, etc. In subdivisions where there is no Sub-divisional Police Officer the memorandum shall be submitted direct to the Superintendent.(t)He shall see that references to the Criminal Intelligence Bureau are made by investigating officers in all appropriate cases. The fact that a reference has been made shall be noted by him in column 1 of the Index of Crime (B.P. Form No. 14), and this register will be examined by the Range Deputy Inspector-General at the time of inspection.(u)He may depute a station officer to undertake the duties of, or an investigation in the jurisdiction of, another station officer, but he shall use this power only in an emergency, reporting all cases to the Superintendent.(v)He may move Assistant Sub-Inspectors, head constables or constables from one police-station to another for patrol or other emergent purposes.(w)Circle Inspectors have been appointed (by Government of Bengal Order No. 3135P1, dated the 22nd July, 1937) to be superior officers for the purposes of sections 158 and 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and shall exercise the powers under those sections in the manner laid down in these regulations.
