Rank structure for the police
The Police have a very structured rank system that come under 3 categories: 1. Frontline Officers, 2. Local Senior Officers and 3. Force Senior Officers. I am going to outline the ranks from lowest to highest.
Frontline Officers
Police Constable (PC): Police constables have the lowest rank in the police force and are responsible for attending 999 calls and protecting the public they do a lot of the evidence gathering, take control of critical incidents and can also work as part of a safer neighbourhood team. Police Constables come in large numbers in the force as they are required to do the most part of the job in protecting the public.
Sergeant: a Sergeant is the next rank up and they are responsible for supervising teams of officers on duty, they plan and oversee operations that crack down on crime including raids. They investigate large scales of crimes and crime rates to try and bring the crime rate in the area down. They also similar to Police Constables take control of serious situations and give tasks for the PC`s to complete in order to resolve the situation should it be something major like a terrorist attack. On any shift there is usually also a minimum of three Duty Sergeants on shift too. However, Policing Sergeants are not the only Sergeants in the Police; there are also Custody Sergeants who work in the custody centres and log people in as being arrested and held in the cells. Sergeants are always the first person that are enquired to about the Police response times.
Inspector: An Inspector is the highest of the Frontline Policing Ranks and are the senior operational officer at all times, Inspectors have a responsibility to oversee all of the officers on duty at that time including the Sergeants. Per shift there is a minimum of one Duty Inspector that’s in command at all times. Inspectors oversee the management and response of serious incidents and if a particular officer is not on duty at a certain time but are needed the Inspector can call them in. Inspectors are the final line of enquiry about response times on that shift and finally they are responsible for resolving issues and grievances both in the service between officers and out of the service between officers and civilians.
Local Senior Officers
Chief inspector: A Chief Inspector is the first level rank of the Local Senior Officers and in each policing district there is usually 2-3 Chief Inspectors working this rank is responsible for managing response teams which means deciding which officers are on the beat and which officers are responding to emergencies. They also oversee the Safer Neighbourhood Teams and the Crime Investigation Department (CID) alongside this Chief Inspectors are the first port of call for major incidents like an armed robbery as they command the specialist firearms unit.
Superintendent: Superintendents are almost like the boss of the station or district area depending on which force you are talking about. There is normally a minimum of 1 working at all times in each district area. They are responsible for all police operations and crime partnerships. They carry a range of statutory authorities within the police and like any other officer can make arrests but it is very rare that they do so. They are the senior officer for all public order and firearms incidents. Most forces have at least 1 working at all times however should this not be the case there is always one on call should they be needed.
Chief Superintendent: The Chief Superintendent is the highest ranking officer for the Local Senior officers and are the head of a policing area or an operational command centre like in Wymondham. They answer to the Chief Constable for all policing activity and operations in their given area. The Chief Superintendent is the person who has to answer for all local partnerships, crime and operations.
Force Senior Officers
Assistant Chief Constable (ACC): The ACC is the third in command for the whole of the counties police force for example Norfolk Constabulary, they range between force to force at 1-5 ACC`S it really varies on the size of the area that the force has to operate in. they are responsible for all policing matters in their area. In London the equivalent rank is Commander.
Deputy Chief Constable (DCC): The DCC is the senior officer in charge of discipline within the force and is also the 2nd in command of the force there isn’t much to do for DCC`S except they have a responsibility to keep an overall eye on policing performance and the success of the work done by the Constabulary. Again in London the equivalent rank is Assistant Commissioner.
Chief Constable (CC): The CC is the highest rank in all non-London and non-Metropolitan Constabularies they are responsible for absolutely everything the Constabulary does. From funding all the way down to who is doing what jobs on what shift. He is appointed by the queen as the Chief Constable and has hundreds of responsibilities including recruitment and providing the funding for training days.
These Epaulettes show how you can identify the ranks of the officers within the police