Brief History of Swami Vivekananda State Police Academy (SVSPA)
The foundation of organized and formal policing in British India was laid by the Police Act, 1861 (Act V of 1861). Around 1893, an experimental two-month course of instructions was introduced in Dhaka (currently in Bangladesh). Subsequently, approval was granted for a Police Training School in Bhagalpur (now in Bihar but then part of the Bengal Province). Following the recommendations of the Indian Police Commission 1902-03, a Police Training School was established at Mill Barracks, Dhaka, operating until 1913.
The partition of Bengal in 1905 and its annulment in 1911 led to the creation of the new province of Bihar, resulting in the Police Training College at Bhagalpur moving out of the Bengal province. Consequently, a new Police Training College was established in Sardah (Rajshahi district in Bangladesh) in 1912, serving as the primary training institution for police in the Bengal province until India gained independence. Additionally, a smaller setup known as Barrackpore Training Centre (BTC), located within the current Barrackpore Police Lines campus, operated as an adjunct to the main training institution.
Post-Independence, the Police Training College for the West Bengal Police was sanctioned in 1948, operating from its present location in Barrackpore. In 1949, the Barrackpore Training Centre (BTC) was merged with it, leading to the establishment of the Police Training College (PTC), Barrackpore. Subsequently, the Police Training Centre at Bankura was also amalgamated with the Police Training College. The Foundation Day is celebrated every year on 11th April. In August 2011, PTC Barrackpore was renamed as Swami Vivekananda State Police Academy, marking a significant milestone in the over century-old history of formal police training in West Bengal.