Chief superintendent is a senior rank in

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

model.

Rank insignia of chief superintendent

File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png,

South Australia Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Po ...

File:RCMP Chief Superintendent.png,

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

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

Cyprus Police The Cyprus Police (, ''i''), is the national police service of the Republic of Cyprus, falling under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order since 1993. The duties and responsibilities of the Cyprus police are set out in the amended Police La ...

Chief superintendent by country

Australia

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

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

in all the Australian police forces excepting the

Western Australia Police The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia to a population of 2.66 million people, of which 2.11 million reside in the Perth Metropolitan Region. Western Australia h ...

. It is junior to the rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

(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 (armed forces), 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 colon ...

in the army.

Canada

In the

and the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the State police, provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols Provincial highways in Ontario, provincial highways and waterways; protects Government of Ontario, provincial government buil ...

, 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 Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. Pursuant to the one c ...

, 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 ...

of the police tactical unit is also a CSP.

Ireland

In the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

, 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.

Japan

The Japanese

Prefectural police In the Law enforcement in Japan, law enforcement system in Japan, are prefecture-level Law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies responsible for Police, policing, law enforcement, and public security within their respective Prefectures of ...

forces formerly used this rank. It has now been replaced by the rank of commissioner. A chief superintendent was chief of a prefectural police force and equivalent in rank to a

Japanese army The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct t ...

major general.

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 Papua New Guinea. History The RPNGC was formed from two predecessor bodies that existed prior to the independence of Papua New Guinea. The Roya ...

, 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 The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP; ) is an attached agency of the Department of the Interior and Local Government mandated to direct, supervise and control the administration and operation of all district, city and municipal jai ...

and the

Bureau of Fire Protection The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP; ) is the government body in the Philippines responsible for firefighting services. It is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Functions and duties The BFP is respons ...

. It is above

senior superintendent Senior superintendent, also police senior superintendent or senior superintendent of police, is a senior rank in police forces used in Brunei, Estonia, Germany, South Korea, Hong Kong, India, Lesotho, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and formerly in ...

and below bureau director and is regarded as the equivalent of brigadier general in the

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) () is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. , it had an estimated strength of 143,100 soldiers The service branch was established on December ...

. It was formerly used by the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...

. File:Philippines-Police-OF-6.svg, Chief Superintendent in the Philippines

Portugal

Chief superintendent () 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 A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

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

epaulet Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales ...

s 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 Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Most law enforcement duties are carried out by police, police constables of ...

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

and junior to an

assistant chief constable Assistant chief constable (ACC) is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces (except the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police, in which the equivalent rank is commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as C ...

(or a

in the Metropolitan Police or

City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force#United Kingdom, territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle Temple, Middle and Inner Temple, Inner Temples. The for ...

). 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 Shropshire Constabulary was the territorial police force responsible for policing rural Shropshire in central England from 1840 until 1967, when it became part of West Mercia Constabulary. History The Shropshire Constabulary was formed along with ...

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 counties of England, ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, Lancashire, Hutton, near the cit ...

had two chief superintendents who were junior to the assistant chief constable.{{cite journal, first=Wilfred, last=Trubshaw, authorlink=Wilfred Trubshaw , title=The Lancashire Constabulary: Eighty Years ago and To-day , journal=Police Journal , volume=1, year=1928, issue=3 , pages=487–498 , doi=10.1177/0032258X2800100313 , s2cid=149098867 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 divisions, 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 1996 (c. 16) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas in England and Wales, constituted Police Authority, police authorities for those areas, and set out the re ...

, although officers already holding the rank could continue to hold it. The

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

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 Parliament, 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 introduc ...

. The senior

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

and commander of the

criminal investigation department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes criminal investigation, detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is disti ...

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 in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. 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.

References

Police ranks Police ranks in the United Kingdom