Association of Chief Police Officers

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The Association of Chief Police Officers or ACPO is the lead organisation for developing police policy in the United Kingdom (except Scotland), and acts as a representative body for senior police officers.

The UK does not have a national police service - with the exception of the British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence Police - but instead has separate police services in the forty-three force areas of England, Wales, eight force areas of Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland. The police officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who hold the rank of Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable (and Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Assistant Commissioner and Commander in the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police) are members of ACPO. Certain senior non-police staff and senior members of national police agencies and certain other specialised and non-geographical forces in the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are also members. Scotland is covered by a separate organisation. As of July 2005 there are 280 members of ACPO.

The organisation is funded by a Home Office grant, together with contributions from each of the 44 UK police Authorities, individual membership subscriptions and from an annual exhibition.

The organisation came to public prominence in 1994 on the ITV series Police, Camera, Action!