Deputy chief constable ( DCC ) is the second highest rank in all territorial police forces in the United Kingdom (except the Metropolitan Police , in which the equivalent rank is deputy assistant commissioner , and City of London Police , in which the equivalent rank is assistant commissioner , both of which wear the same insignia as a DCC). The British Transport Police , Ministry of Defence Police , Civil Nuclear Constabulary , and the Isle of Man Constabulary each also has a DCC.
31-550: Until 2006, each force could only have one DCC, who would normally be second-in-command to the chief constable . However, Schedule 2 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 amended the Police Act 1996 to permit more than one DCC within each force. The DCC ranks above the assistant chief constables (ACC). The role of the DCC varies from force to force. In some smaller forces (usually those with only
62-628: A head constable , although this rank was superseded by chief constable in most forces in the later 19th century and early 20th century and was almost completely abolished by the Police Act 1919 . Liverpool City Police was the only large force to retain it until then. The first woman to hold the rank of chief constable was Pauline Clare , appointed Chief Constable of the Lancashire Constabulary on 14 June 1995. The population of areas for which chief constables are responsible varies from under
93-531: A bill to the House of Commons in February 1840. Maule outlined the problems: "...difficulties had arisen from the mode of payment provided for carrying into effect the regulations of the act, by levying it out of the county rates; a difficulty as to that provision had arisen in various counties, in which certain districts only had adopted the act. In counties, also, in which there were isolated portions of other counties, it
124-465: A hundred thousand to two or three million, and it is commonplace for chief constables for larger force areas to be drawn from the chief constables of smaller forces. A chief constable has no senior officer. Prior to 2012, a chief constable was responsible to a police authority . In England and Wales , the chief constable is now appointed by and accountable to the Police and Crime Commissioner of their service, or to an elected mayor , who may also dismiss
155-470: A single ACC or no ACC), they take responsibility for territorial policing, but in most forces the role covers corporate functions including professional standards. The rank was abolished on 1 April 1995, following recommendations made in the Sheehy Report , later confirmed by the Police Act 1996 , although officers already holding the rank could continue to hold it. Most forces continued to designate one of
186-825: 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 (the Isle of Man Constabulary , States of Guernsey Police Service , and States of Jersey Police ) and
217-601: The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 had the power to form their own police force and were to be excluded from the jurisdiction of the county police. In each county where the act was adopted a chief constable was to be appointed. Where a county was divided into two parliamentary divisions by the Reform Act 1832 , a chief constable could be appointed to each division. It was also permitted for one chief constable to be appointed to two or more neighbouring counties. For
248-713: 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. Throughout the United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies there are currently fifty chief constables. These consist of
279-576: The West Midlands and Greater Manchester , down to £127,017 in Central Scotland . The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and their deputy are paid significantly more than any chief constable, partly because the Metropolitan Police has national anti-terrorism and security duties that overlap with other local forces, but also because the Metropolitan Police is by far the largest force in
310-412: The divisional superintendents and the two assistant commissioners . These officers were to be generally military officers, civil servants or lawyers who were directly appointed to the rank. This caused a certain amount of concern, since some saw it as the creation of an "officer class" for the police, which had always been resisted. Their rank badge consisted of crossed tipstaves in a wreath. In 1886,
341-494: The "chief officers" of a force. The salaries of chief constables vary from force to force, primarily on the basis of the population of their force's territory, but the amounts are fixed centrally. As of 2022, the highest paid is the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland , on £230,000, in recognition of the unique security challenges and political sensitivity of that office. Other salaries range from £181,455 in
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#1732852771829372-513: The 18th century and earlier. Constable and constabulary were terms adopted in an attempt to provide a historical link with the older forces - the term is derived from the Latin comes stabuli (keeper of the stables) - and to emphasise local control. Much of the debate about policing in the early 19th century, when modern police forces were introduced in the United Kingdom , concerned fears that
403-567: The ACCs as "designated deputy" to the chief constable. The Home Office officially reintroduced the rank on 1 January 2002 under the terms of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 . The rank badge worn by a DCC consists of a bath star ("pip") over crossed tipstaves within a wreath, similar to the insignia of a major-general in the British Army . Chief constable Chief Constable
434-583: The Peace in England and Wales to establish police forces in their counties. The Act was not compulsory, and constabularies were only established in 25 out of 55 counties by 1856, when the County and Borough Police Act 1856 made their provision mandatory. The legislation was based on the recommendations of a royal commission appointed in 1836 to "inquire into the best means of establishing an efficient constabulary force in
465-483: The Peace or in which separate County Rates are made". The act was not to extend to the Metropolitan Police District . In order to establish a force in a county, it was necessary for three or more magistrates to make a requisition to the chairman of the quarter sessions to bring the matter to a vote. If the sessions chose to adopt the act they were obliged to prepare a report on the area and population of
496-455: The act, and on 28 November appointed Commander Samuel Meredith, Royal Navy as chief constable. The appointment was approved on 5 December, and Wiltshire's example was quickly followed by Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Durham. Within a few months of the first county constabularies being formed, a number of problems with the legislation became apparent. Accordingly, the Hon. Fox Maule introduced
527-557: The chief constable. The chief constable's badge of rank, worn on the epaulettes , consists of crossed tipstaffs in a laurel wreath , surmounted by a crown. This is similar to the insignia of a lieutenant-general in the British Army, and is also worn by an assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police . The chief constable is assisted by a deputy chief constable (DCC) and one or more assistant chief constables (ACC). The chief constable, DCC and ACCs are collectively known as
558-519: The chief officers of 37 English territorial forces outside London, four Welsh territorial forces, the Police Service of Scotland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland , three special national forces and three Crown Dependency constabularies. The chief officers of some police departments in Canada also hold the title of chief constable. The title is derived from the original local parish constables of
589-575: The counties of England and Wales". The three members of the commission, or "Constabulary Commissioners" as they were informally called were Colonel Charles Rowan , Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police , Edwin Chadwick and Charles Shaw Lefevre . The commission was appointed against a background of unrest and violence in some areas of the country, with protests against the New Poor Law and agitation by Chartists for social and political reform. Chadwick
620-543: The country. As of 2011, the commissioner earns an annual salary of £260,088, whilst their deputy earns £214,722. In London , the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police are led by commissioners rather than chief constables. Chief constable was, however, a lower rank in the Metropolitan Police which existed between 1886 and 1946. In 1869, the divisions of the Metropolitan Police were grouped into four districts, and four new officers called district superintendents were appointed to command them, ranking between
651-466: The county and the existing method of policing. The report would set out how it was proposed to apply the legislation to the county, detailing the number of constables, the divisions of the county and the salaries to be paid and making any additional rules and regulations deemed necessary. The report was then submitted for approval to the Home Secretary who could modify parts of the scheme but did not have
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#1732852771829682-672: The districts in 1933, with the chief constables remaining as their deputies until the latter rank was finally renamed deputy commander in 1946. County Police Act 1839 The County Police Act 1839 ( 2 & 3 Vict. c. 93) (also known as the Rural Police Act or the Rural Constabularies Act ) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It was one of the Police Acts 1839 to 1893 . The Act enabled Justices of
713-428: The lines favoured by Russell. It recommended that "a properly trained and equipped preventative police force" based on the pattern of the existing Metropolitan Police , should be established in all counties where the magistrates were in favour. Each force should be funded mostly by local rates, with 25% of the cost met by central government. The force would be under the supervision of the county magistrates, who would have
744-424: The new forces might become paramilitary agents of central government control. To this day other British police ranks , such as inspector and superintendent , are determinedly non-paramilitary – only police sergeants hold a quasi-military rank and even then the term sergeant had long existed as a non-military officer of subordinate rank. The County Police Act 1839 gave the counties of England and Wales
775-543: The opportunity to establish full-time police forces, headed by a chief constable who was appointed by the justices of the peace of the county. The first county to implement this was Wiltshire Constabulary , which appointed Captain Samuel Meredith RN its first chief constable on 28 November 1839. Other counties followed this pattern; for instance, Essex appointed its first chief constable on 11 February 1840. Originally, most borough police forces were commanded by
806-408: The power to alter the number of constables or their salaries. The sessions had the power to choose a chief constable, but his appointment was also subject to the approval of the Home Secretary. In some cases magistrates chose to form a force in only part of a county. The first county to form a constabulary under the 1839 Act was Wiltshire . On 13 November the court of quarter sessions agreed to adopt
837-472: The power to employ or remove officers, subject to statutory regulations. The act allowed justices of the peace of any county , in general or quarter sessions , to appoint constables "for the preservation of the peace and protection of the inhabitants" where they felt the existing system of parish constables was insufficient. The constables were to be appointed on a ratio of not more than one officer per one thousand of population. Boroughs operating under
868-404: The purposes of the act all county exclaves were to be part of the county by which they were surrounded, or with which they had the longest common boundary. All franchises or liberties , other than reformed boroughs were also to come under the county police. A "county" for the purposes of the act was defined as being "any County, Riding or Division having a separate Court of Quarter Sessions of
899-513: The rank of district superintendent was renamed chief constable, as it was decided that it could be confused with the divisional superintendents. Unlike their superiors, chief constables were actually sworn into the office of constable , hence the name. A fifth chief constable was later created in the Criminal Investigation Department . In 1919 the rank became junior to the new rank of deputy assistant commissioners , who took over
930-465: Was difficult to say how those isolated portions were to be dealt with, because they were incorporated in the police districts of another county than that in which they were rated for the payment..." The bill was enacted as the County Police Act 1840 ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. 88). It provided inter alia for the voluntary merging of borough police forces with county constabularies and the levying of
961-570: Was strongly in favour of the creation of a single centralised force, but this was opposed by not only the two other commissioners but also by the Home Secretary , Lord John Russell . Russell wrote to the magistrates of the various counties asking them to support the resolution passed in Shropshire to establish a body of constables paid for out of the county rate and under the control of the magistrates. The commission's report, issued in 1839, followed