The Puducherry Police date back to the period of French colonial rule prior to 1954. Separate Armed and Indigenous (local) police units were maintained at that time.[1]
In India, during the French colonial rule of Pondicherry, Yanam, Karaikal and Mahé, Kepis were worn by two kinds of policemen, the Armed and the Indigenous, differentiated by the color of the kepis they wore. While the law and order forces wore bright red caps, the armed constabulary was conspicuous by its blue kepis. After Indian Independence, the former French colonial territory was integrated into the Union Territory of Puducherry and the bright red kepi continues to be the headgear of the constabulary — both for the local and the armed police signifying the cultural and administrative legacies left by the former colonialists.[2]
The modern force still retains the French kepi as a distinctive feature of its uniform.[3]
As of 2013, the Puducherry Police had around 4000 personnel, of whom 150 were women.[5] The force plans to induct more women officers to have one woman officer at every police station.[6]
The Puducherry Police coordinates with other law enforcement agencies across the country to catch offenders and criminals.[7]
The force has prisons in Kalapet, Yanam and Karaikal. It has plans to open an open prison.[8] It is the only force having a separate traffic unit with investigation power in India.
