Station house officer

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Station House Officer (SHO) is the officer in charge of a police station in India (and Pakistan). The SHO is a designated post, usually held by an inspector or sub-inspector, appointed by the government to supervise all work at the station. The SHO can lead and conduct investigations into crimes. The SHO is not a rank, but a job title. There were about 16,955 sanctioned police stations in India as of January 1, 2022. In some states, the SHO is called the Officer-in-Charge (OC), especially in rural areas where a sub-inspector heads the station. In West Bengal, when a station is headed by an inspector, the title is Inspector-in-Charge (IC).