Chief constable

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Chief Constable is the

States of Guernsey Police Service, and States of Jersey Police) and the Sovereign Base Areas Police in Cyprus. The title was also held, ex officio, by the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers under the Police Reform Act 2002.[1] It was also the title of the chief officer of the Royal Parks Constabulary
until this agency was disbanded in 2004.

Throughout the United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies there are currently fifty chief constables. These consist of the chief officers of 37 English territorial forces outside London, four Welsh territorial forces, the Police Service of Scotland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, three special national forces and three Crown Dependency constabularies.

The chief officers of some police departments in Canada also hold the title of chief constable.

History

The title is derived from the original local

British police ranks, such as inspector and superintendent, are determinedly non-paramilitary – only police sergeants
hold a quasi-military rank and even then the term sergeant had long existed as a non-military officer of subordinate rank.

The

Wiltshire Constabulary, which appointed Captain Samuel Meredith RN its first chief constable on 28 November 1839.[3] Other counties followed this pattern; for instance, Essex appointed its first chief constable on 11 February 1840.[4]

Originally, most borough police forces were commanded by a head constable, although this rank was superseded by chief constable in most forces in the later 19th century and early 20th century and was almost completely abolished by the Police Act 1919. Liverpool City Police was the only large force to retain it until then.

The first woman to hold the rank of chief constable was Pauline Clare, appointed Chief Constable of the Lancashire Constabulary on 14 June 1995.[5]

Characteristics of office

Chief Constable
Chief Constable

The population of areas for which chief constables are responsible varies from under a hundred thousand to two or three million, and it is commonplace for chief constables for larger force areas to be drawn from the chief constables of smaller forces. A chief constable has no senior officer. Prior to 2012, a chief constable was responsible to a

elected mayor
, who may also dismiss the chief constable.

The chief constable's badge of rank, worn on the

epaulettes, consists of crossed tipstaffs in a laurel wreath, surmounted by a crown.[6] This is similar to the insignia of a lieutenant-general in the British Army, and is also worn by an assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police
.

The chief constable is assisted by a deputy chief constable (DCC) and one or more assistant chief constables (ACC). The chief constable, DCC and ACCs are collectively known as the "chief officers" of a force.

Salaries

The salaries of chief constables vary from force to force, primarily on the basis of the population of their force's territory, but the amounts are fixed centrally. As of 2022, the highest paid is the chief constable of the

deputy are paid significantly more than any chief constable, partly because the Metropolitan Police has national anti-terrorism and security duties that overlap with other local forces, but also because the Metropolitan Police is by far the largest force in the country. As of 2011, the commissioner earns an annual salary of £260,088, whilst their deputy earns £214,722.[7]

Metropolitan Police

In London, the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police are led by commissioners rather than chief constables. Chief constable was, however, a lower rank in the Metropolitan Police which existed between 1886 and 1946.

In 1869, the

assistant commissioners. These officers were to be generally military officers, civil servants or lawyers who were directly appointed to the rank. This caused a certain amount of concern, since some saw it as the creation of an "officer class" for the police, which had always been resisted. Their rank badge consisted of crossed tipstaves
in a wreath.

In 1886, the rank of district superintendent was renamed chief constable, as it was decided that it could be confused with the divisional superintendents. Unlike their superiors, chief constables were actually sworn into the office of constable, hence the name. A fifth chief constable was later created in the Criminal Investigation Department. In 1919 the rank became junior to the new rank of deputy assistant commissioners, who took over the districts in 1933, with the chief constables remaining as their deputies until the latter rank was finally renamed deputy commander in 1946.

See also

References

  1. ^ "President of ACPO". Police Reform Act 2002. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012.
  2. ISBN 0-333-38245-5
    .
  3. ^ Wiltshire Constabulary History Archived 18 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Wiltshire Police website
  4. ^ The Making of a Chief Constable Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Essex Police website
  5. ^ "First woman chief constable is appointed". The Independent. 15 June 1995.
  6. ^ Police Ranks and Epaulette Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Avon and Somerset Constabulary website
  7. ^ "Police Pay". police-information.co.uk.
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