West Bengal faces a policing crisis with approximately 46,000 police posts lying vacant, exacerbating an already strained law enforcement system in a state of 100 million people.

This shortfall, highlighted in a Business Standard report on March 14, underscores India’s broader under-policing woes, with West Bengal’s police-to-population ratio languishing below the national average of 150 per 100,000—itself far short of the UN-recommended 222.

The vacancies span constables to senior ranks, with recruitment stalled by bureaucratic delays, funding disputes, and political wrangling. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government has faced criticism for sluggish hiring despite escalating crime rates and political violence. In 2024 alone, incidents like the Beed sarpanch murder, cybercrime spikes linked to Jharkhand’s Jamtara gang, and attacks on police in Uttar Dinajpur exposed enforcement gaps. The state’s sanctioned police strength is around 1.2 lakh, meaning nearly 38% remains unfilled—a deficit unchanged since mid-2023 per Home Ministry data.

Opposition BJP claims the TMC prioritizes loyalty over competence, stalling merit-based recruitment. TMC counters that the Centre’s refusal to fund additional posts hampers progress, pointing to Uttar Pradesh’s recent 60,244 constable hires as a contrast enabled by federal support. Meanwhile, civil society groups argue the vacancies fuel public distrust, with overstretched forces struggling to manage protests—like the SFI’s March 2 agitation—or probe high-profile cases like the land-for-jobs scam.

On X, users decry the “lawless state,” linking vacancies to rising insecurity, though official responses remain muted. With 2026 assembly polls looming, the government faces pressure to act. Yet, as The Hindu noted in February, entrenched inefficiencies suggest no quick fix. West Bengal’s policing crisis isn’t just numbers—it’s a test of governance amid mounting social and political strain.