[8] The Uttar Pradesh Police is headquartered at Signature Building, Gomti Nagar Extension in Lucknow which was earlier located in city of Prayagraj.

[12] The same Mr. Court became the first Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the then North West Province and Avadh which comprised the territory of the present state of Uttar Pradesh.

The center monitors trends in social media that can have an impact on law & order situation and advise concerned district and range police chiefs.

As per the 2017 audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Uttar Pradesh Police has a shortage of 45,047 handguns and an excess of 56,298 rifles.

[50] In 2020, Uttar Pradesh government started an operation to screen allegedly corrupt police officials who will be forced to take retirement.

[51] In 2018, India Today carried out an investigative piece reporting incidents of UP police framing innocent people and killing them in staged encounters for money and promotions.

[54] In 2012, 17 UP police personnel were given life term for killing an incontinent 24-year-old man in a 1992 fake encounter and later they branded the victim as a terrorist.

[55] On 10 July 2020, Uttar Pradesh police personnel were involved in the encounter of gangster and former BSP leader Vikas Dubey.

Through an investigation, call records showed that Dubey was in contact with multiple police personnel, who were acting as moles and leaked information to him.

On 19 December 2005, police personnel raided a public park in Meerut, accompanied by cameras crews from TV channels.

The raid was termed "Operation Majnu" (named after the folklore) and it was claimed by the police that the purpose was to check sexual harassment.

The head of the operation an officer called Alka Pandey said it was to prevent "innocent girls being trapped by boys with evil motives".

[62][63] In 2017, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath started the anti-romeo squads in the department for safety of women and young girls from sexual harassment and eve-teasing.

[65] The Uttar Pradesh Police has an infamous history of refusing to file reports and investigate crimes against women, notably rape cases, especially when high profile individuals like political leaders are involved, or caste bias.

Despite the changes mandated by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, the attitude of Uttar Pradesh Police officials has often been lackluster, which has worsened crime rate and safety of women, especially in the rural areas and with most victims belonging to minority and backward castes.

In several cases, lower ranked police personnel have faced suspension and dismissal for inaction, ignorance, and insensitivity by indulging in victim blaming instead of investigating the crimes and apprehending the culprits.

[67] In February 2017, on the orders of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Uttar Pradesh Police refused to file a rape case against Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, then minister of State for mining.

Following the refusal, the victim approached Supreme Court, which ordered the department to have the report filed and conduct an investigation.

[69] The Uttar Pradesh Police was criticized for mishandling the 2017 Unnao rape case, which involved expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.

However, in the aftermath, 6 officers were suspended for arresting the victim's father and subsequent custodial death, who was also assaulted by the accused's brother Atul Sengar.

[72] In the 2020 Hathras gang rape and murder, the Uttar Pradesh Police came under fire, after some officials forcibly cremated the body of the victim girl without the consent of her family.

The botched investigation led to the acquittal of 3 of the 4 accused, as with lack of crucial evidence, neither of them charged with rape and murder; furthermore, the department was also condemned for failure to stop protests led by expelled BJP MLA Rajveer Singh Pehelwan, with activists and members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, who held a rally in support for the accused as they belonged to the upper castes.

[78][79] On 10 July 2015, IPS Officer Amitabh Thakur, who was posted as an IG, alleged that former Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, had threatened him on a phone call.

[81] In retaliation, Thakur was charged with false cases of rape and disproportionate assets, both of which were proven to be baseless and he was cleared by the Economic Offenses Wing and the Vigilance Department.

In certain cases, misconduct of Uttar Pradesh Police officials have resulted in backlash, especially against women thought to be victims of Love Jihad.

[85][86] In 2014, a girl, whose father was a liquor baron in Agra, eloped with a man and sought shelter with the Love Commandos in nearby New Delhi.

Agra police allegedly managed to find the girl's location in a suburban area in New Delhi by using her cellphone signal.