Lalbazar Headquarters of the Kolkata Police is one of the most prestigious and oldest police headquarters of the country situated at 18, Lalbazar Street, Kolkata 700001. There are five building blocks inside the headquarters–administrative building, traffic building, control room building, DD building and Central lock-upbuilding. The security office of the Lalbazar Headquarters protects the entire building from any unforeseen circumstances and also ensures safety through constant vigil, day in and day out. This security office is different from any other police station considering the very speciality, significance and security concern of the entire police force responsible for consolidating the law and order of the city as well as the state in its entirety.
The security office has manifold functions of which force deployment and supervision of Lalbazar Headquarters is the primary task of the office. Apart from 49 staff of the security office, there are a number of forces who report at the office through deployment at various places and positions considering the urgency and necessity of the situation.
Lalbazar in gate, Lalbazar outgate, parking inside Lalbazar complex, press gate, central receiving gate, security enclosure gate, behind central lock-upgate, central staircase, Lalbazar beautified garden, outside Lalbazar-security personnel are deployed in all these areas for better surveillance within the Lalbazar Headquarters discouraging any slackness or want of proper attention. The security office of Lalbazar comprises of two sub-office i.e. security office and reception of security. The strength of the security office is 49. Among them, there are 5 inspectors, 13 sergeants, 8 assistant sub-inspectors and 16 constables. 18 persons are in charge of the security reception.
Everyday hundreds of people come to Lalbazar seeking appointments with superior as well as different subordinate sections of Lalbazar for different purposes. They are usually allowed access only after getting due permission and strict security checking which involves depositing the mobile phones and obtaining the official slip containing their photos, addresses and the all-important contact details. The slip is to be deposited to 
the out gate at the time of their departure from the Headquarters. Visitors with baggage are passed through scanner machines and also through the door frame metal detector installed at the ground floor of the main building, taken care of by the SB personnel of the Kolkata Police . As a matter of fact, it can be said that the Lalbazar security office takes care of both inside and the surrounding areas of Lalbazar Headquarters with utmost care and great concern, plugging all loopholes. 18 CCTV cameras have been interconnected with an LED screen which is set up at the inspectors’ room of the security office. Be it police personnel, ministerial staff, owners and drivers of hired vehicles, CCS bank employees, goods suppliers, contractors, labourers, press reporters–it is the inspectors who look after the overall maintenance, supervision and security, under the guidance and constant assistance o f the AC, HQF(I).
According to OC Security Sanjoy Saha, “Our primary task is to stop unauthorized entry of people within the premises and also to guide people who come here in various departments every day. All the gates of Lalbazar Headquarters are duly fortified and protected by our armed security personnel. This department is the most recent one and it has been extremely 
efficient in the true sense of the term. Subrata Bhattacharya, who retired from the Lalbazar Security Forces a few months back, received the prestigious Indian Police Medal (IPM). This department also foiled trafficking of a Bangladeshi girl and received accolades from all quarters for smart work. No doubt, the Lalbazar security force has indeed formed the benchmark as far as surveillance and security are concerned. Considering the degree of incrimination around and the adoption of novel techniques, the approach of the Lalbazar Security Office is commendable. There is no room for complacency. The courage to face any eventuality is the hallmark of this department.
By Our Own Correspondent
