Police ranks
This article gives an overview of police ranks in the United Kingdom, in order from lowest to highest. To pass from one rank to the next involved passing a promotional exam.
Different police forces have different command and unit structures, officer ranks reflecting the size of the unit they command. Because of its size and because it has national policing duties, the Metropolitan Police has its own, distinct ranking system for senior managers. The Metropolitan Police due to its size but also having national policing duties has a different ranking system for its senior management to other police forces.
Most police officers are uniformed officers, meaning they wear official uniform while on duty, and generally referred to as ‘uniformed police’ regardless of rank. Police serving in Criminal Investigation Divisions or Special Branch are entitled to add the title detective, though it is not universally observed.
Junior ranks
Cadet: a police officer in training, who has not yet taken the official oath to become a police officer.
Constable: lowest rank of police officer, sometimes abbreviated to con.; also known as police constable (PC) or woman police constable (WPC). Constables in CID or Special Branch are known as detective constables (DC). The majority of undercovers were detective constables.
Sergeant: second-lowest rank of police officer, abbreviated as sgt. or DS for those in CID or Special Branch. Often found in an administrative role in a unit. In the Special Demonstration Squad, back-office administrators were of this rank. A few undercovers held this rank or achieved it during the course of their deployment
Inspector: head or deputy head of a unit or squad, depending on the organisational structure. In the Metropolitan Police Special Branch they would often have some responsibility for a desk and a number of officers underneath them, acting as deputy head or covering operational matters. Within the Special Demonstration Squad, inspectors were part of the management team, acting as deputy head. Often abbreviated as DI or insp.
Chief inspector: a management-level rank, usually overseeing a squad or unit; within the Metropolitan Police Special Branch, chief inspectors might have responsibility for several desks [[footnote: A ‘desk’ is Special Branch terminology for a group of officers with monitoring a particular area of interest, for instance, the ‘Industrial Desk’ focused on strikes and industrial disputes, or the Extreme Left Wing Desk focused on Trotskyist, Anarchist and related groups, etc.]]or units within a squad, covering administrative matters. Often abbreviated as CI or DCI. The head of the Special Demonstration Squad was always a chief inspector.
Mid-level ranks
Superintendent: middle-level management rank, often overseeing a set of responsibilities and answering to a chief superintendent. Abbreviated to supt. or DSupt. In the Metropolitan Police Special Branch, a superintendent was usually deputy head of a squad, with responsibility for operational matters.
Chief superintendent: middle manager, overseeing a significant area of policing usually by topic, and consisting of several units. Within the Metropolitan Police Special Branch they were heads of the main squads (A, B, C, etc.) and carried out administrative functions. Often abbreviated DCS or ch. supt. The commander of operations of MPSB was often of this rank.
Head of Special Branch: reference to a position rather than rank. Often abbreviated to HSB. Depending on the police force, it could be as low as a detective inspector, though it was usually of middle or senior rank.
Police senior management ranks
Metropolitan Police
Commander: a rank unique to the Metropolitan Police, considered a senior management or chief officer level, and equivalent to regional police forces’ assistant chief constable rank. However, commander also referred to commander of operations, usually a specific role, held by officers of a lower rank, which can lead to confusion. Depending on the era, the head or deputy head of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch was of commander level.
Deputy assistant commissioner: usually abbreviated to DAC, is a senior officer in the Metropolitan Police, responsible for a specific policing area, e.g. protection. For much of the existence of the Special Demonstration Squad, the head of MPSB was a DAC. At other periods, the DAC who oversaw the MPSB was known as DAC ‘Security’.
Director: not a formal rank; a title given to police officers, who had a particular role. For instance, HN85 Roger Pearce ‘Roger Thorley’ was Director of Intelligence when he oversaw MPSB.
Assistant commissioner: ACs would oversee entire policing divisions or departments of the Metropolitan Police that were often assigned letters. For instance, the assistant commissioner who headed C Division, which included CID and Special Branch, was often referred to as assistant commissioner ‘C’ or AC ‘C’. Later, that rank was known as assistant commissioner for Specialist Operations, or ASCO, for instance having national responsibility for counter-terrorism.
Deputy commissioner: deputy head of the Metropolitan Police, often with specific responsibilities such as managing complaints or supervising internal investigations.
Commissioner: head of the Metropolitan Police, the most senior police officer in the United Kingdom. The formal title is Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
Commissioners and assistant commissioners are usually appointed by the Home Office in conjunction with the Mayor of London.
Regional police forces
Assistant chief constable: the first of the chief or senior ranking officers, known as chief officers, in a force. Often they have responsibility for an entire policing area, e.g. CID or uniformed policing.
Deputy chief constable: deputy to chief constable, often with specific responsibilities within the force.
Chief constable: head of a regional police force.