Chief superintendent is a senior rank in

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

forces, especially in those organised on the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

model.

Rank insignia of chief superintendent

File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police File:RCMP Chief Superintendent.png,

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

File:Distintivo Superintendente-Chefe PSP.png, Portuguese Public Security Police File:Chief Superintendant Epaulette.svg, UK police chief superintendent epaulette

Chief superintendent by country

Australia

In Australia, a chief superintendent is senior to the rank of

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

in all the Australian police forces excepting the Western Australia Police. It is junior to the rank of commander (Victoria Police, South Australia Police) and the rank of assistant commissioner (New South Wales Police, Queensland Police). Officers wear the insignia of a crown over two Bath stars (or in the case of the New South Wales Police, a crown over two stars) the same as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the army.

Canada

In the

and the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...

, a chief superintendent wears two Bath stars (or pips) below a crown, equivalent to a colonel. In the RCMP, the rank falls between superintendent and assistant commissioner. The OPP rank is between superintendent and deputy commissioner or provincial commander.

Hong Kong

In the

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...

, a chief superintendent of police (CSP) ranks between a senior superintendent (SSP) and an assistant commissioner of police (ACP). A CSP is usually a district commander (DC) or a branch or bureau commander (e.g. Narcotics Bureau). The

commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the police tactical unit is also a CSP.

Ireland

In the Garda Síochána, the Republic of Ireland's national police force, the rank of chief superintendent is between

and assistant commissioner. Chief superintendents usually command divisions, while detective chief superintendents head the various investigative branches. The rank marking is two red and gold pips over a red and gold bar.

Papua New Guinea

In the

Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) is a national police force with jurisdiction throughout all of Papua New Guinea. History The RPNGC was formed from two predecessor bodies that existed prior to the independence of Papua New Guinea. ...

, a chief superintendent is normally a metropolitan superintendent or the director of a police division. The rank is between

and assistant commissioner.

Philippines

In the Philippines, chief superintendent is a rank in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the

Bureau of Fire Protection The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP; Filipino: ''Kawanihan ng Pagtatanggol sa Sunog'') is the government body in the Philippines responsible for the provision of fire services. It is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and L ...

. It is above senior superintendent and below bureau director and is regarded as the equivalent of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) (Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...

Portugal

Chief superintendent ( pt, superintendente-chefe) is the highest officer rank in the Public Security Police (PSP) of Portugal. It is senior to the police rank of superintendent, being roughly equivalent to a general officer in the armed forces. Chiefs superintendents can exercise the roles of national director, deputy national directors, inspector general of the PSP and commanding officers of major police commands. The basic rank insignia of a chief superintendent consists of dark blue epaulets bordered with silver leaves of oak and with two PSP stars (six points silver stars with the ''SP'' monogram in the center) in the middle. If exercising the role of national director or deputy national director / inspector general, the chief superintendents use instead, respectively, four and three PSP stars.

United Kingdom

In the British police, a chief superintendent (Ch Supt; or colloquially "chief super") is senior to a

and junior to an assistant chief constable (or a commander in the Metropolitan Police or City of London Police). The rank of chief superintendent was first introduced into the Metropolitan Police in 1949, when superintendents were regraded to the new rank, and has since been adopted in all British police forces. However, the rank had been used previously to this in some forces in certain circumstances. For example, in 1920 the deputy head of Shropshire Constabulary bore the official title of "chief superintendent and deputy chief constable" and in 1927,

Lancashire Constabulary Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, near the city of Preston. , the force has 3,088 police officers ...

had two chief superintendents who were junior to the assistant chief constable. Between 1949 and 1968, chief superintendent was junior to deputy commander in the Metropolitan Police, and between 1953 and 1974 it was immediately senior to superintendent grade I. Traditionally, chief superintendents have commanded

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

s, but since widespread reorganisation in the 1990s many forces have abandoned divisions for different forms of organisation and the areas commanded by chief superintendents vary widely from force to force. In most forces, however, they still command the largest territorial subdivisions, often known generally as basic command units (BCUs). The rank of chief superintendent was abolished on 1 April 1995 following recommendations made in the Sheehy Report, later confirmed by the

Police Act 1996 The Police Act 1996c 16 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas in England and Wales, constituted police authorities for those areas, and set out the relationship between the Home Secretary and t ...

, although officers already holding the rank could continue to hold it. The Home Office officially reintroduced the rank of chief superintendent on 1 January 2002, under the terms of the

Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which gave extra powers to the police, with the aim to tackle crime and disorder more effectively. Key provisions include the introduction of on-the-spo ...

. The senior detective and commander of the

criminal investigation department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

in most forces is a detective chief superintendent (DCS or Det Ch Supt) (although in the Metropolitan Police, a DCS may only command a branch of the CID and the head of CID in each district was formerly also a DCS) and the rank of chief superintendent may also be used by the commanders of other headquarters departments. The rank badge, worn on the epaulettes, is a bath star ("pip") below a crown, the same rank badge worn by a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Metropolitan Police chief superintendents wore a crown over two stars until the abolition of the rank of superintendent grade I in 1974, after which they changed to the latter's rank badge, which was already worn by chief superintendents elsewhere in the country. A chief superintendent's annual salary starts at £81,156 and rises to £85,614 with an additional London weighting of £2,373 (as of April 2019).{{Cite web, url=http://www.policesupers.com/2015/09/16/superintending-pay-scales/, title=Superintending Pay Scales, website=policesupers, access-date=2016-09-18, url-status=dead, archive-date=2016-09-28, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928141352/http://www.policesupers.com/2015/09/16/superintending-pay-scales/

References

Police ranks Police ranks in the United Kingdom