Rank insignia of police commissioner
Romanian Police
A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies and community groups. Additionally, the commissioner handles high-profile cases, addresses public concerns, and represents the department in various forums.
Police commissioners may be experienced police officers, though some are politically appointed, or elected civilians; [1] not sworn police officers. [2] [3] [4] In such cases, usually a professional chief of police is in charge of day-to-day operations. In either event, commissioners are the designated heads of the organizations. [5]
In police services of the UK, Commonwealth and United States, the title of commissioner may designate the head of an entire police force, or a member of an oversight board of police commissioners. [6] [7] [8]
A police commissioner should not be confused with a police commissary. In France, Italy, Spain and some Latin American countries "commissary" denotes the head of a single police station (analogous to a inspector or chief inspector in UK and Commonwealth countries). However titles such as commissaire in French, commissario in Italian and comisario in Spanish can mean either commissioner or commissary in English, depending on the context. [9] [10]
The Australian Federal Police and the autonomous Australian state and territory police forces are each presided over by a commissioner, who is accountable to constituents through a minister of state. The state of Victoria at one time (during the 19th-century Gold Rush) appointed commissioners for both the metropolitan area and the goldfields. Outranking both was a "chief commissioner"—a title that has survived the disappearance of the earlier junior commissioners. In Victoria, as elsewhere, the second-highest rank is deputy commissioner. [11]
The insignia of rank worn by a commissioner in the Australian Federal Police and the New South Wales Police Force is a crown over a star and crossed and wreathed tipstaves, similar to the insignia of a military full general. In all other civilian forces, the insignia is a crown over crossed and wreathed tipstaves, similar to the insignia of a military lieutenant-general. [12]
After the proclamation of the 1959 Constitution of Brunei, it was stated that a Commissioner of Police has to be appointed for the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF). [13] The first commissioner was appointed on 29 September 1959, assuming command of the force. [14] The Commissioner of Police, who oversees the RPB headquarters (the Commissioner's of Police Office) with assistance from the Deputy Commissioner of Police and Secretariat, reports directly to the monarch. [15]
In Canada, the highest-ranking officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and of the Ontario Provincial Police holds the rank of commissioner. [16] [17] In the province of Alberta, the Police Act requires the municipality to appoint police commissioners that are required to provide public oversight of the police. In Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, there are nine commissioners, including two city councillors and seven city-appointed members, the object being to "provide civilian oversight for the police service". [18] The commissioners appoint and oversee a chief of police, to whom is delegated the day-to-day management of the force. [19]
In reference to the police of France and other French-speaking countries, the rank of commissaire is a rank equating to somewhere in between the British police ranks of superintendent and chief superintendent. [20] The rank above is called "divisional commissioner". This is sometimes equated to a chief superintendent, but can in some cases hold a similar function to a Deputy Chief Constable. A former intermediate rank of "principal commissioner" was abolished in 2006.
The second-highest career bracket in German law enforcement leads to the rank of police commissioner or Kommissar . Training encompasses three years in a police academy (graduating as Diplom-Verwaltungswirt or bachelor of public administration). The highest possible rank within this career bracket is that of Erster Polizeihauptkommissar or Erster Kriminalhauptkommissar. The work of a Kommissar, in general, centers on investigation of felonies, depending on the branch of police and department to which he belongs, similar to the equivalent of an inspector in British-styled police forces. Roughly equivalent to a British commissioner would be (Landes-) Polizeipräsident or Inspekteur der Polizei, titles that differ between police forces in Germany. [21]
The head of the Hong Kong Police (Royal Hong Kong Police Force 1969 to 30 June 1997) force has used this title since 1938. [22] [23]
The National Police of Iceland employs a national commissioner (Icelandic : Ríkislögreglustjóri) (four-star-rank) that is the head of 15 districts across Iceland. The commissioner is not an experienced police officer whatsoever, like most police chiefs in Iceland are educated lawyers, not experienced police officers. [24]
Of the 15 districts in the Icelandic police, each has a police chief of its own, but the national commissioner is above them, the minister of judicial affairs is in charge of law enforcement in Iceland. [25]
The garda commissioner is the officer overseeing the Garda Síochána, the national police force. [26]
In India, the commissioner of police designation is held by different ranks of Indian Police Service officers at different places. The Commissioner of Police holds a pivotal role as the head of city police forces in India.
For example, it is held by a Director General of Police (DGP) rank officer in Delhi and Kolkata; and by an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) rank officer in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj (Allahabad),Gautam Budh Nagar, and Surat; by Inspector General of Police (IGP) officer in Cyberabad Metropolitan Police, Gurgaon, Pune, Nashik, Coimbatore, Madurai, Thane, Howrah, Siliguri, Trivandrum, and Cochin; and by Deputy Inspector General of Police officer in Bidhannagar, Kozhikode and in many small cities.
In the Indonesian National Police, the four levels of commissioner are police chief commissioner (komisaris besar polisi), police deputy chief commissioner (ajun komisaris besar polisi), police commissioner (komisaris polisi), and police deputy commissioner (ajun komisaris polisi). Due to strong military influence in its history, even now, police ranks can be compared to the ranks of the Indonesian military. The four commissioner ranks are equivalent to the Indonesian military ranks of colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, and captain, respectively. [27]
In the Italian Police, a commissioner (commissario) is the superintendent of a commissariato, a police station/detachment that can either serve an entire township of small or medium dimensions, or a limited area in a metropolitan city. [28]
The Japanese Prefectural police forces used this rank, and it was formerly known as chief superintendent. The rank holders assumed the responsibility of being a chief of the prefectural police force. It was lower than a senior commissioner and higher than a superintendent.
The commissioner of police in Japan is equivalent to a army major general.
In the Royal Malaysia Police, states of Sabah and Sarawak contingent are led by police commissioner than rest of the states in Malaysia, a special status for two states. [29]
In The Malta Police Force, the commissioner of police is the head of the police department, responsible for its entire management and control. [30] Since 2016, a chief executive officer at the Malta Police Force was appointed, to work alongside the commissioner of police to implement the Police Force Vision. [31]
In the Republic of Mauritius, the commissioner of police is the head of the national law enforcement agency called the Mauritius Police Force (MPF), which is responsible for policing on mainland Mauritius, Rodrigues, and other outer islands. The position dates back to 1767, when Antoine Codère was the first commissioner of police. [32] The commissioner operates under the aegis of the Home Affairs Division of the prime minister's office and the MPF employs around 12,500 police officers, who are posted at the eight divisions and 14 branches. [33]
The first chief commissioner is the head of the National Police Corps. The commissioner is appointed by the Crown, and reports to the minister of Justice and Security. The commissioner is the highest-ranking sworn police member in the country. [34]
The commissioner of police is the head of the New Zealand Police. The commissioner is appointed for a three-year term by the governor-general, and reports to the minister of police. [35] The position combines two functions, that of chief constable in charge of policing and cases, and chief executive responsible for assets and budgeting. [36] In military terms, the rank is equivalent to Lieutenant General. [37]
The Police Force Act 1886 split the police from the standing army and militia on 1 September 1886. Sir George Whitmore was appointed as the first commissioner, reporting to the minister of defence. [38] Early commissioners came from the United Kingdom with military or law-enforcement experience, such as Walter Dinnie, who had served as inspector at Scotland Yard.
In 2006, the commissioner was the highest-paid person on the public payroll in New Zealand, earning $440,000. [39]
In Nigeria, a commissioner of police is the head of an entire state branch of the Nigeria Police Force. [40]
In Poland, a commissioner (komisarz) is a relatively low rank, directly above podkomisarz and below nadkomisarz, comparable to a lieutenant of the armed forces. [41]
Historically, in the Civil Police of Portugal, a police commissioner (Portuguese : comissário) was a divisional commander in the Lisbon and Oporto police forces or the chief of a district police force in the other districts of the country. The chief of each of the Lisbon and Oporto police forces had the title of commissioner general (comissário-geral). With the reorganization of Civil Police and its transformation in the Public Security Police (PSP) in the 1930s, commissioner became a police rank in this force. [42]
Presently, commissioner is an officer rank in the PSP, roughly equivalent to the military rank of captain. It is above the rank of subcommissioner and below that of superintendent. Commissioners usually have the role of second-in-command of PSP divisions commanded by subintendents.
The rank insignia of a commissioner consists in a dark blue epaulet with three PSP stars (silver six points stars with the "SP" monogram in the center).
In the Romanian Police, similarly to the French Police (see commissaire de police ), the rank of commissioner (comisar) is equivalent to the British police rank of superintendent. [43]
In Spain, a National Police commissioner is the chief of a police station. This rank is called comisario principal. A commissioner exists in the biggest cities, and in smaller cities, the chief of the police is headed by a superintendent. In the Civil Guard, this rank does not exist because it has a military organization.
In England and Wales, outside of Greater London, police and crime commissioners are directly elected officials charged with securing efficient and effective policing of their police area. They are not warranted police officers, although they appoint and hold to account their chief constable. The first police and crime commissioners were elected in November 2012, with the lowest electorate turnout ever in England and Wales. Historically the title "commissioner" has denoted the professional chief police officer of certain police forces, and that is still the case within Greater London, with the Commissioner of the City of London Police and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis . Both these commissioners are appointed, not elected, and since the 1950s have been career police officers (as opposed to the previous practice of appointing former British Army officers). Although they were technically justices of the peace until the 1970s, [44] the commissioners have always worn a similar uniform to police officers, and have been treated similarly in terms of pay and terms of service. [45]
Some U.S. police agencies use the title "commissioner" for the head of a police department or state agency. The term may refer to:
Commander is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
The National Police, formerly known as the Sûreté nationale, is one of two national police forces of France, the other being the National Gendarmerie. The National Police is the country's main civil law enforcement agency, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. By contrast, the National Gendarmerie has primary jurisdiction in smaller towns, as well as in rural and border areas. The National Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and has about 145,200 employees. Young French citizens can fulfill their mandatory service in the police force.
Chief Constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police, and Civil Nuclear Constabulary. The title is also held by the chief officers of the principal Crown Dependency police forces 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. It was also the title of the chief officer of the Royal Parks Constabulary until this agency was disbanded in 2004.
A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or sometimes just a chief, while some countries favour other titles such as commissioner or chief constable. A police chief is appointed by and answerable to a state or local government.
Police ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships in police organisations. The rank system defines authority and responsibility in a police organisation, and affects the culture within the police force. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms.
An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general".
Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the British model.
A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop.
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories, in many former British colonies, as well as in Portugal and in several former Portuguese colonies. In some countries, such as Italy, the rank of superintendent is a lower rank.
The Superintendent of Police (SP) is a rank in Indian police forces held by an officer who serves as the head of a rural police district. Other officers of the same rank may lead specialised wings or units. In cities under commissionerate system, an SP and SSP may serve as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) under the Commissioner of Police. The SP reports directly to the district magistrate (collector), the administrative head of a revenue district, who has general control and direction over police administration. Additionally, an SP sends monthly reports to the Director General of Police (DGP) through the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Gazetted officers include all the Indian Police Service officers which are Group A officers of the cadre and all State Police Services officers of and above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. All are arranged in a hierarchical order.
Assistant commissioner or assistant commissioner of police (ACP) is a rank used in various police forces.
An inspector-general of police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most senior officer of the entire national police.
The Mauritius Police Force (MPF) is the national law enforcement agency of Mauritius. The MPF carries out police, security, and military functions on Mauritius, with about 12,500 police officers under the command of the Commissioner of Police. The MPF is part of the Home Affairs Division, which operates under the aegis of the Prime Minister's Office.
Chief inspector is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP).
The Telangana Police, officially known as the, Telangana State Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Telangana in India. It has jurisdiction concurrent with the 33 revenue districts of the state. The police force was created from the remnants of the Andhra Pradesh Police after Telangana state was formed. It is headed by the Director general of police, Dr. Jitender, and headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.
The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, Firm in Action" in Sanskrit. It operates under the Department of Home Affairs, Government of Kerala. The force is headed by the State Police Chief, and the incumbent chief is Shaikh Darvesh Sahib, IPS.
The police in Canada's ranks differ according to the different police forces and depend on different laws at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.
There are five civilian members who make up the Board of Police Commissioners.