# Sub-inspector
A sub-inspector (SI) is a mid-level police rank used in South and Southeast Asian police services, sitting between the inspector and the assistant sub-inspector in the Indian and Bangladeshi rank order and marking the top of the rank-and-file ladder in forces such as the [Royal Malaysia Police](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-malaysia-police).[1](https://www.linkinglaws.com/assets/pdf/videolecture/police-structure-by-anoop-upadhyay-sir-268.pdf) • [2](https://rmp2u.rmp.gov.my/content/pangkat?lang=en)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Rank position (India, Bangladesh) | Below Inspector, above Assistant Sub-Inspector, Head Constable, and Constable[1](https://www.linkinglaws.com/assets/pdf/videolecture/police-structure-by-anoop-upadhyay-sir-268.pdf) • [14](https://www.police.gov.bd/en/sub-inspector_%28si%29%3A) |
| Rank position (Malaysia) | Highest rank of the rank-and-file and constable ladder, below the Senior Police Officer category[2](https://rmp2u.rmp.gov.my/content/pangkat?lang=en) |
| Insignia (Malaysia) | Sub-Inspector and above wear insignia on epaulets on both shoulders; ranks below wear it on the right sleeve[2](https://rmp2u.rmp.gov.my/content/pangkat?lang=en) |
| Abbreviation | SI[2](https://rmp2u.rmp.gov.my/content/pangkat?lang=en) |
| Entry route (India, states) | Recruitment through state police and state public service commissions, with physical standard and efficiency tests; police is a State subject in India[3](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2247658&lang=1®=1) • [4](https://citizen.goapolice.gov.in/web/guest/recruitment_new) |
| Training (Bangladesh) | Selected 2025 cadet sub-inspectors (unarmed branch) undergo one year of basic training[5](https://www.police.gov.bd/en/recruitment_information?name=2025) |
## Position in the rank structure
In the Indian and Bangladeshi rank order, the sub-inspector sits in the middle of the subordinate officer cadre. A rank chart used for Indian police structure lists the sequence [Inspector](https://www.edgepedia.org/inspector), Assistant Inspector, Sub-inspector, Assistant Sub-inspector, and then Head Constable and [Constable](https://www.edgepedia.org/constable) below.[1](https://www.linkinglaws.com/assets/pdf/videolecture/police-structure-by-anoop-upadhyay-sir-268.pdf) Survey data reflect this placement. In a study of 60 subordinate officers of the [Bangladesh Police](https://www.edgepedia.org/bangladesh-police), 21.66 percent were Sub Inspectors, fewer than the 35 percent who were Assistant Sub Inspectors, Head Constables, or Naiks, and more than the 6.66 percent who were Inspectors.[6](https://northsouth.edu/newassets/files/ppg-research/ppg-1st-3rd-batch/339_Complete%20Report%20on%20DMP%20%28Faruk%29.pdf) A sample of 45 police officials in Punjab, Pakistan showed the same ordering: 24.4 percent Sub Inspectors, between 20.0 percent Inspectors and 31.1 percent Assistant Sub Inspectors.[7](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382658006_Human_Rigths_in_Police_Department_in_the_Punjab_Policy_and_Implimentation)
**Malaysia.** The Royal Malaysia Police organizes its 17 rank levels into two categories, Senior Police Officers and rank-and-file officers with constables. Sub-Inspector (SI) is the highest rank within the rank-and-file and constable ladder, placed in the senior non-commissioned tier above Sergeant Major, Sergeant, Corporal, Lance Corporal, and Police Constable.[2](https://rmp2u.rmp.gov.my/content/pangkat?lang=en) The rank table also notes an insignia distinction: ranks below Sub-Inspector wear insignia on the right sleeve, while Sub-Inspector and above wear insignia on epaulets on both shoulders.[2](https://rmp2u.rmp.gov.my/content/pangkat?lang=en)
## Duties and working role
Sub-inspectors work at the operational level of policing, where investigation, station management, and supervision of constables converge. The Bangladesh study sampled sub-inspectors alongside inspectors and constables as the ranks that carry out day-to-day police work in both armed and unarmed branches; in that sample, sub-inspectors appeared in both branches, with 6 in the armed branch and 7 in the unarmed branch.[6](https://northsouth.edu/newassets/files/ppg-research/ppg-1st-3rd-batch/339_Complete%20Report%20on%20DMP%20%28Faruk%29.pdf) In the Sri Lanka Police rank hierarchy, Sub Inspector of Police appears among the operational ranks listed between the assistant superintendent level and the lower ranks.[8](https://www.parliament.lk/uploads/documents/paperspresented/performance-report-srilanka-police-department-2015.pdf)
## Recruitment and training
**India.** Because police is a State subject under List-II of the [Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/seventh-schedule-to-the-constitution-of-india), each state government and union territory administration runs its own police force and its own recruitment for subordinate ranks.[3](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2247658&lang=1®=1) State forces advertise sub-inspector posts and select candidates through physical standard tests and physical efficiency tests; Goa Police, for example, issued an advertisement for Police Sub-Inspector posts in 2026 with scheduled physical tests and document verification.[4](https://citizen.goapolice.gov.in/web/guest/recruitment_new) State public service commissions also advise candidates to posts: the [Kerala Public Service Commission](https://www.edgepedia.org/kerala-public-service-commission) maintains a running advice list for Sub Inspector of Police (Trainee) in the Kerala Civil Police, with candidates advised in batches from 2018 through 2026.[9](https://www.keralapsc.gov.in/sub-inspector-police-trainee-police-kerala-civil-police) Central forces recruit sub-inspectors separately; the [Railway Protection Force](https://www.edgepedia.org/railway-protection-force) recruitment CEN RPF 01/2024 covered 452 Sub-Inspector posts with appointments beginning around January 2026, and the Staff Selection Commission handles physical standard tests for Sub-Inspector posts such as Sub-Inspector (Hindi Translator) in the CRPF.[10](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=289958) • [11](https://ssccr.gov.in/)
**Bangladesh.** Bangladesh Police recruits cadet sub-inspectors through a competitive process with written, psychological, and oral examinations. Candidates selected in the 2025 cadet sub-inspector (unarmed) recruitment were sent on one year of basic training.[5](https://www.police.gov.bd/en/recruitment_information?name=2025)
**Sri Lanka.** The Sri Lanka Police recruits sub-inspectors through its Police Recruitment Division in Colombo; a June 2025 gazette notification opened applications for the post of Sub Inspector of Police (Male) using a specimen application form.[12](https://documents.gov.lk/view/gazettes/2025/6/2025-06-20%28I-IIA%29E.pdf)
## Promotion context
The sub-inspector rank is a step in a promotion ladder that can lead into the senior officer ranks. In Malaysia, promotion from Sub-Inspector crosses into the Senior Police Officer category, whose ladder begins at Probationary Inspector and runs up to the Inspector-General of Police.[2](https://rmp2u.rmp.gov.my/content/pangkat?lang=en) Training pipelines reflect the rank's place in the career path: among graduates of the Police Staff College Bangladesh in 2020, 24 were Sub-inspectors, a smaller group than the 33 Inspectors and far smaller than the gazetted ranks above them, such as 68 Assistant Superintendents of Police and 78 Superintendents.[13](https://www.psc.gov.bd/storage/app/media/Annual%20Report%202020.pdf)
## References
1. [Police structure rank chart (Anoop Upadhyay), LinkingLaws](https://www.linkinglaws.com/assets/pdf/videolecture/police-structure-by-anoop-upadhyay-sir-268.pdf)
2. [Rank Structure of the Royal Malaysia Police, Royal Malaysia Police](https://rmp2u.rmp.gov.my/content/pangkat?lang=en)
3. [Implementation of Mooshahary Committee Recommendations, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs (1 April 2026)](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2247658&lang=1®=1)
4. [Recruitment notices, Goa Police](https://citizen.goapolice.gov.in/web/guest/recruitment_new)
5. [Recruitment information 2025: cadet Sub-Inspector (unarmed) basic training, Bangladesh Police](https://www.police.gov.bd/en/recruitment_information?name=2025)
6. [Report on the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Chapter Five: Data Analysis and Findings), North South University](https://northsouth.edu/newassets/files/ppg-research/ppg-1st-3rd-batch/339_Complete%20Report%20on%20DMP%20%28Faruk%29.pdf)
7. [Human Rights in Police Department in the Punjab: Policy and Implementation, ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382658006_Human_Rigths_in_Police_Department_in_the_Punjab_Policy_and_Implimentation)
8. [Performance Report 2015, Sri Lanka Department of Police, Parliament of Sri Lanka](https://www.parliament.lk/uploads/documents/paperspresented/performance-report-srilanka-police-department-2015.pdf)
9. [Sub Inspector of Police (Trainee), Kerala Public Service Commission](https://www.keralapsc.gov.in/sub-inspector-police-trainee-police-kerala-civil-police)
10. [RPF recruitment CEN RPF 01/2024 and 02/2024, Press Information Bureau](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=289958)
11. [Staff Selection Commission, Central Region](https://ssccr.gov.in/)
12. [Sri Lanka Gazette 2025.06.20, Part I(IIA): Sub Inspector of Police (Male) recruitment](https://documents.gov.lk/view/gazettes/2025/6/2025-06-20%28I-IIA%29E.pdf)
13. [Police Staff College Bangladesh: Annual Report 2020](https://www.psc.gov.bd/storage/app/media/Annual%20Report%202020.pdf)
14. [Sub Inspector %28si%29%3A, police.gov.bd](https://www.police.gov.bd/en/sub-inspector_%28si%29%3A)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Armed forces and security organizations › Police forces and law-enforcement agencies › Police forces of other countries*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license