UK police ranks
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Most of the police forces of the United Kingdom use a standard set of ranks, with a slight variation in the most senior ranks for the Metropolitan Police (in London) and the City of London Police.[1][2]
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[edit] Rank insignia
Badges of rank are usually worn on the epaulettes, although sergeants wear their stripes on their upper sleeves in formal uniform.[1][2]
| Rank | Police Constable |
Sergeant | Inspector | Chief Inspector |
Superintendent | Chief Superintendent |
| Insignia |  |
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| County police force rank |
Assistant Chief Constable |
Deputy Chief Constable |
Chief Constable | ||
| City of London Police rank |
Commander | Assistant Commissioner |
Commissioner | ||
| Metropolitan Police rank |
Commander | Deputy Assistant Commissioner |
Assistant Commissioner |
Deputy Commissioner |
Commissioner |
| Insignia |  |
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These ranks are used by all territorial forces in the United Kingdom, and by the British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police. Smaller specialist forces and forces outside the United Kingdom (including the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar) use the same general system, but often have fewer ranks.
In Britain Chief Constable is the title of the head of all British territorial police forces except the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police, which are headed by Commissioners. Ranks above Chief Superintendent are usually non-operational management roles, and are often referred to as "Chief Officer" ranks.
Epaulettes are normally black with white or silver insignia as shown above, although for High Visibility Uniform, they are often yellow with black insignia.
[edit] Examples of variations
[edit] City of London Police
The City of London Police has fewer ranks above Chief Superintendent:
- Commander (Cmdr)
- Assistant Commissioner (AC)
- Commissioner
The City of London Police Commissioner has the unique status of not holding the office of constable, but is fact classed as a Justice of the Peace. This was the same for the Metropolitan Police Service until recent years with Sir Paul Condon being the last Commissioner to have this status, along with his deputies. The Commissioner has the power to attest his own officers as constables without putting them before a local Magistrate to do so, as happened in the Metropolitan Police.
[edit] Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was headed by an Inspector-General until 1969, when it fully adopted the rank system used elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The RUC has now been replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which uses the same ranks, but has a different version of the rank insignia, with the star from the PSNI badge replacing the crown.[3]
[edit] Isle of Man Constabulary
The Isle of Man Constabulary has fewer ranks above Superintendent:
[edit] Powers
In law, every member of a police force is a constable whatever their actual rank. The basic police powers of arrest and search of an ordinary Constable are identical to those of a Superintendent or Chief Constable; however certain higher ranks are given administrative powers to authorise certain police actions. These include the powers
- to authorise the continued detention of up to 24 hours of a person arrested for an offence and brought to a police station (granted to Sergeants),
- to authorise section 18 (1) PACE house searches (granted to Inspectors), or
- to extend the length of prisoner detention to 36 hours (granted to Superintendents).
In relation to police officers of the Home Office or territorial police forces of England and Wales, Section 30 of the Police Act 1996 states that "a member of a police force shall have all the powers and privileges of a constable throughout England and Wales and the adjacent United Kingdom waters". Police officers do not need to be on duty to exercise their powers and can act off duty if circumstances require it (technically placing themselves back on duty). Officers from the police forces of Scotland and Northern Ireland and non-territorial special police forces have different jurisdictions. See List of police forces in the United Kingdom for a fuller description of jurisdictions.
[edit] Detectives
Officers holding ranks up to and including Chief Superintendent who are members of the Criminal Investigation Department or Special Branch (and certain other units) have the prefix "Detective" before their rank. Due to the nature of their duties these officers generally wear plain clothes and so do not wear the corresponding rank insignia. However, they still operate within the same structure as other officers. It is a misconception often portrayed by the media that detective ranks are superior to those of uniformed officers. In the United Kingdom this is not the case, and a Detective Sergeant has the same powers and authority as a uniformed Sergeant. Indeed, in terms of law, a uniformed Sergeant actually has far more police powers available due to custody and traffic legislation requiring the officer to be in uniform. The "Detective" prefix merely designates that the officer has received extra training and has certain skills in terms of investigation.
[edit] Special Constables
A Special Constable is a volunteer police officer, with the same powers as a regular officer. The main role of a "special" is to work with the local constabulary to provide an additional and heightened police presence on the streets and in the local community. They may also be requested to police particular events such as football matches and community events.
In the special constabulary, there are various grades which assist in the tasking and management of the constabulary. The persons holding these grades have no additional power within law and are "outranked" by any regular officer. Most forces use a rank system of bars, as in the Essex ranks shown below in ascending order from left to right.
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Special constabulary epaulettes frequently bear the letters "SC", a crown, or both to differentiate them from regular officers, however with some forces, such as the Avon and Somerset Constabulary and British Transport Police, only the collar number designates a special.
[edit] City of London Special Constabulary
The City of London Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority):
- Special Constable (SC logo, divisional letter and shoulder number)
- Special Sergeant (SC logo, divisional letter, shoulder number and one bar)
- Special Inspector (SC logo, two bars)
- Special Chief Inspector (SC logo, three bars)
- Special Superintendent (SC logo, four bars)
- Special Commandant (SC logo, laurel wreath with four bars inside)
The City of London Special Constabulary also includes the Honourable Artillery Company Specials, members of this unit wear HAC on the shoulders in addition to other insignia.
[edit] Metropolitan Special Constabulary
The Metropolitan Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority):
- Special Constable (SC logo, borough code and shoulder number)
- Special Sergeant (previously Sub Divisional Officer (SDO)) (SC logo, borough code, shoulder number and one bar)
- Special Inspector (previously Divisional Officer (DO) or Borough Divisional Officer (BDO)) (SC logo, two bars)
- Assistant Chief Officer (SC logo, three bars)
- Deputy Chief Officer (SC logo, three bars)
- Chief Officer (SC logo, four bars)
[edit] Thames Valley Special Constabulary
The Thames Valley Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority):[4]
- Special Constable (SC logo and shoulder number)
- Special Sergeant (SC logo, one bar and shoulder number)
- Special Inspector (SC logo, two bars)
- Special Chief Inspector (SC logo, three bars)
- Assistant Chief Officer (laurel wreath with two bars inside)
- Chief Officer (laurel wreath with four bars inside)
[edit] Warwickshire Police Special Constabulary
The Warwickshire Police Special Constabulary uses the following grades (in increasing order of seniority; the SC logo incorporates a crown):
- Special Constable (SC logo and collar number)
- Section Officer (SC logo, one bar and collar number)
- Area Officer (SC logo, two bars)
- Senior Area Officer (SC logo, three bars)
- Deputy Chief Officer (SC logo, laurel wreath with three bars inside; three bars until 2006)
- Chief Officer (SC logo, laurel wreath with four bars inside; four bars until 2006)
[edit] Community Support Officers
Police Community Support Officers in general do not have a rank system: their epaulettes simply bear the words POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER and their shoulder number, or in the Metropolitan Police, a borough code and shoulder number.
Exceptions to this are found in South Yorkshire and Kent Police who also have PCSO Supervisors. The South Yorkshire epaulettes have a 'Bar' above the wording Police Community Support Officer Supervisor - Traffic with the shoulder number beneath.
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[edit] Trainee / Temporary Officers
Police Constables who are training to become Detective Constables sometimes bear the title "TDC" or "T/DC", meaning Trainee Detective Constable.
Some police forces use the prefix "T" before the rank (eg. T/DS, T/DI, T/CI) to denote officers who are temporarily acting in those ranks, rather than those who are in training. Other police forces use the prefix "A" (denoting "Acting") for those who are 'acting up', for example, A/PS (Acting Police Sergeant) or A/DS (Acting Detective Sergeant).
[edit] Shoulder numbers
Sergeants, Constables, Special Constables and PCSOs all carry "shoulder numbers" on their epaulettes. These are still called "collar numbers" in some forces, since that is where they used to be worn, although all forces now actually wear them on the epaulettes.
In most forces these are simple numbers, with 1 to 4 digits. The Metropolitan Police, being a much bigger force, uses a different system:
- Sergeant - Borough Code and 2 digits
- Constable - Borough Code and 3 digits
- Special Constable - Borough Code and 4 digits, the first digit being a 5
- PCSO - Borough Code and 4 digits, the first digit being a 7
The Borough Code is the two letter shown as AB in the diagrams above. Before the reorganisation into boroughs, each division had a different code.
[edit] Traffic Wardens
Traffic Wardens are administered by the police and exercise some police powers to control traffic or issue Fixed Penalty Notices for traffic offences; their epaulettes bear their shoulder number and the words TRAFFIC WARDEN. They are not to be confused with local authority "Parking Attendants" whose powers are generally limited to issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for breaches of parking laws on highways or in local authority car parks and compelling the production of a Disabled parking permit (Blue Badge) for inspection.
