There are four training institutions in Assam, all located at Dergaon, in the district of Golaghat to train the Assam Police personnel. These are :
1. Police Training College
2. Armed Police Training Centre
3. Battalion Training Centre and
4. Recruit Training School.
These training institutions impart basic and in-service training to the police personnel of various ranks belonging to the different branches of Assam Police. Each of these four institutions is headed by an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police who is assisted by a set of experienced instructors. All these institutions function under the supervision of the DIG (TAP/EB) located at Dergaon.
The Police Training College was established in the year 1948 at Salonibari, a place about 12 km north of Tezpur town on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra river, to fulfill the long felt need to offer training facilities to the police personnel of various ranks of the entire North Eastern region. Mr. D. C. Dutt, IP, was the first Principal of the Police Training College. The College was shifted from Salonibari to Dergaon on April 1, 1949.
The College imparts training for a few weeks to the IPS Probationers allotted to the Joint Cadre of Assam and Meghalaya after they pass out of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy at Hyderabad. It also provides basic training to the newly recruited Assam Police (APS) officers, Sub Inspectors of the Unarmed Branch, Assistant Sub Inspectors of the Unarmed Branch and Women Constables. It also runs in-service training courses as well as pre-¬promotion cadre courses for Unarmed Branch officers and the Women Police. It has a Horse Riding School and a Motor Driving and Maintenance Training School. Every year about 600 police personnel are trained in the college. Recently, the college has undertaken a training course for the Enforcement Inspectors of the Transport Department of the Government of Assam.
Before the establishment of the North East Police Academy (NEPA) at Barapani, near Shillong and the police training institutions for all other units of the North East, the police officers upto the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Maghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura were imparted training at the Police Training College, Dergaon.
The Recruit Training School was established in 1973. It imparts training to the constables belonging to the Unarmed Branch of the Assam Police which man all police stations of the State. Besides the regular courses of drill and discipline and armed training, it extends courses on laws of the country, human rights and behaviour.
The Assam Police has grown from strength to strength during the last two decades. In 1980, it had a force of 40,290 and at the end of the 20th century its numerical strength stands at 61,263.
The Armed Police Training Centre (APTC) was established on April 1, 1974 at the headquarters of the 5th Assam Police Battalion, Kahilipara, Guwahati under Shri B. Barthakur, IPS. The training centre was eventually shifted to Dergaon in 1977. The centre has the responsibility for giving basic training to the armed wing of the police force of Assam. Besides the routine courses of drill and discipline, the recruits are imparted training in unarmed combat, boxing and in the handling of various kinds of fire arms and weapons, field craft and tactics.
The Central Arms Repair School (CARS) of the Assam Police functions under the aegis of the APTC. In this workshop, minor repairs of all kinds of arms are carried out. In addition to these, it also trains up the armed personnel of the Assam Police as well as those from other units of the North East whenever requested.
The Government of Assam felt the need to have comprehensive in-service training courses for the police personnel to sharpen and refresh their professional skills and consequently, in March 1980, it established the Battalion Training Centre at Dergaon. It runs various pre-promotion cadre courses for officers and men belonging to the Armed Police. Besides, it also runs some specialized courses like map reading, capsule courses for non-commissioned officers as well as Instructors' courses. All pre-course training for the police personnel selected to undergo any specialized course in central police organizations such as NSG, CRPF, BSF, ITBP and other training institutions is conducted at the BTC Dergaon.