Over 10 years (2006-15), Uttar Pradesh (UP) transferred Indian Police Service (IPS) officers at four times the Indian average, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) data. Although the rate of transfers declined 37% over this period, the average IPS officer stayed at her post for less than a year over this period.

Regardless, the crime rate doubled: Cognisable crime–investigation of which does not require a court order–in UP, over 10 years, rose from 122,108 in 2006 to 241,920 in 2015. Communal ...