Talk:UK police ranks

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B This article has been rated as B-Class on the quality scale.

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[edit] Assessment

While an article of this size, with only one reference, would not fare a B class normally I feel, in this case the article provides exactly what it says on the tin, and the one reference is all that is needed and is from the best source you can get the topic being what it is.

[edit] Pictures

are you sure that the badges of rank for commisioner and deputy c. are the right way around? looks pretty counter-intuitive compared to the British Army, for example 195.93.21.2 20:39, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Yes, they are the right way round. The reason for the rather odd appearance is that until 2001 the Deputy Commissioner did not have his own rank badge and wore the same insignia as the Assistant Commissioners. When it was decided to introduce a separate badge (Sir Ian Blair, now Commissioner, was the first to wear it) it became necessary to invent a new badge, hence the two small pips. -- Necrothesp 23:28, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
The problem is that the star on a commissioner's epaulettes seems to be almost twice the size as the two stars on a deputy commissioner's (see here) - this difference is not clearly illustrated in this article's pictures. If someone could find a fair-use image showing the enhanced star then I think this would clear things up. AulaTPN 21:42, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
Done! I've replaced the Deputy Commissioner image with one that shows the correct 'pip' size. Timothy Titus Talk To TT 19:11, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

I think there are a number of errors in the pictures. If you look at the badges on the Met Police website you see that the Deputy Commisioners badge has a silver crown (no clour) and that the pips are smaller. I think the Sergeant badge is also incorrect as it has three stipe not two (for acting sergant see met police ranks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.183.134.210 (talk) 21:38, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

The Deputy Commisioner insignia shown on the Met site is a photograph, unlike the others, which accounts for the lack of colour. Nevertheless I agree that there are several errors:
  • the Sergeant badge should have three stripes, not two.
  • the pip on the Commissioner's badge should be a large one like those of DAC and CS.
  • the angle of the tipstaves is wrong.
Moreover, the source of these images is given as www.rankinsignia.net, but that seems to be a link aggregation site, and I could not find these images there. Kanguole 13:10, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
The images bear some similarity to those on www.uniforminsignia.net, which bear the notice "Copyright © 2000-2006 WORLD INSIGNIA COLLECTORS UNION. The information on this page may not be reproduced, republished or mirrored on another webpage or website without written permission from the editors." Incidentally that site also suggests that in Scottish forces the red is replaced by blue. Kanguole 13:51, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
The Sergeant badge, as illustrated, DOES have three stripes. The metal forms the three stripes - if you are seeing only two, then you are looking at the blank space between the metal stripes! This is a common confusion. However, if you go and find a real UK Police Sergeant and have a look at his shoulder, you'll find that this is absolutely right! Timothy Titus Talk To TT 17:19, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
I've replaced the Deputy Commissioner badge with a new one showing the correct size for the two 'pips'. The previous image was incorrect. Timothy Titus Talk To TT 19:11, 13 December 2007 (UTC)
From the linked images, the Commissioner's and Chief Inspector's pips should also be the same size as a DAC's, a little larger than an Inspector's. Kanguole (talk) 13:23, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rank

Is there a contradiction here perhaps?

Para 1: Every officer still only has the powers of constable, no matter what their rank. Para 2: Higher ranking officers have certain extra powers ... Satyricon uk 22:43, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

Not really. Their powers when dealing with the public are the same (e.g. making arrests). What differs is their administrative powers (e.g. authorising longer detention, authorising entries). -- Necrothesp 16:26, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

for howmany years of service one get promotion

You can apply for promotion to sergeant after completing probation (two years). Potential sergeants and inspectors have to pass exams to qualify for promotion to those ranks. Apart from that, there are no hard and fast rules for promotion. Some people are promoted to sergeant pretty much as soon as they complete their probation and climb the ladder quickly; many constables never even apply for promotion and prefer to stay at the lowest level and not end up spending most of their time behind a desk. -- Necrothesp 18:01, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Feroshki 23:51, 9 January 2007 (UTC) Can anyone explain why there is no "corporal" [ two stripes] or "lieutenant" [ one pip] , as would be suggested by analogy with Army ?

When the Metropolitan Police was formed it was very deliberately decided not to use military ranks to discourage the idea that the new force was at all for the repression of the people. The only exception was sergeant. There was no real need for corporals in the command structure in any case, as sergeants were in charge of sections and there was no unit below that. British Army lieutenants wear two pips, incidentally. One pip is carried by a second lieutenant. But remember that in the army, officers join directly as second lieutenants, whereas in the police all inspectors have been constables and sergeants first, so it makes sense not to have an "apprentice" rank as in the army. Incidentally, some Scottish police forces did use the rank of Lieutenant, between sergeant and inspector, until the early 20th century. -- Necrothesp 17:47, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Police Service of Northern Ireland, not RUC

Isn't the mention of the RUC anachronistic? At the very least a sentence should be added that the RUC no longer exists.

Well, it's not anachronistic. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia and thus includes historical information as well as current information. The fact the RUC no longer exists doesn't mean info about it shouldn't be here. That section merely pointed out that the RUC used a different rank structure at one time. The PSNI is mentioned elsewhere. -- Necrothesp 12:28, 8 June 2007 (UTC)