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Chief of police

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A chief of police 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 national or local government.

Duties

The precise role of a chief of police varies by country and sometimes within a country. The larger a police force or department, the more likely that some duties will be delegated to mid-ranked officers. The following list is a general sense of the actions and responsibilities held by any chief of police.

  • Oversight of a department's operations and budgeting
  • Oversight of officers
    • Limited disciplinary actions to be addressed on infractions of policy, rules, regulations, laws or ordinances[1]
    • Full dismissal or heavy sanctioning of officer duty; these powers vary by department
    • Promotion and rank placement of officers
  • Production and development of department policies and regulations
  • Liaison with the governments that oversee and fund the department
  • In small police departments, upkeep and updating of department equipment such as police vehicles, weapons, communications equipment and uniforms[2]
  • In the smallest police departments, the chief may also carry out the same duties as regular officers (patrol, investigations, etc.)

Police chiefs are usually sworn police officers, and therefore wear police uniforms and have the power of arrest, though there are exceptions. In practice, their work is administrative in all but the smallest police departments. The rare occasions when police chiefs make arrests have drawn media coverage. In 2014, Bernard Hogan-Howe chased a group of fare evaders and made an arrest. A taxi driver had approached Hogan-Howe for help, unaware that he was London's police commissioner.[3][4] In 2017, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck arrested a police officer on suspicion of a sexual offence.[5]

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Power of arrest

Power of arrest

The power of arrest is a mandate given by a central authority that allows an individual to remove a criminal's liberty. The power of arrest can also be used to protect a person, or persons from harm or to protect damage to property.

Los Angeles Police Department

Los Angeles Police Department

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 9,974 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-largest municipal police department in the United States, after the New York City Police Department and the Chicago Police Department.

Charlie Beck

Charlie Beck

Charles Lloyd Beck is a retired police officer, formerly serving as the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and subsequently as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. A veteran of the department with over four decades as an officer, he is known for commanding and rehabilitating the Rampart Division after the Rampart scandal; and for technology enhancements during his time as Chief of Detectives. He agreed to be interim Superintendent of Police in Chicago in late 2019 while the city searches nationwide for a replacement for retiring Eddie Johnson. Beck took the helm of the Chicago Police Department on December 2, 2019 after Johnson was fired. On April 15, 2020, Beck stepped down and was replaced by former Dallas Police Department Chief David Brown, who had been nominated by Lightfoot to serve as permanent Superintendent. After his retirement he rejoined the Reserve Corps as a Reserve Police Officer and is assigned to the Office Of The Chief Of Police.

Canada

"Chief of police" (French: directeur) is the most common title for the highest-ranked officer in a Canadian police service. The exceptions are: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (commissioner), Ontario Provincial Police (commissioner), South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service (chief officer), Vancouver Police Department (chief constable), West Vancouver Police Department (chief constable), Nelson Police Department (chief constable), Quebec City (director) and the Sûreté du Québec (director general).

In the province of Ontario, a chief of police must be a sworn police officer and therefore have completed training at the Ontario Police College or have served a probationary period with another recognized police force (such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's academy known as "Depot"). This requirement is legislated in the Police Services Act of Ontario. The legislation states in section two that a chief of police is a police officer. Section 44.2 of the PSA defines the training requirements. There was a case in the police department of Guelph, Ontario, where a human resource manager was promoted to the position of deputy chief but was required to complete training at the OPC. The candidate is selected by a police services board.

Deputy chief

Ranks below the chief are stylized as deputy chief, deputy chief constable (BC) and deputy commissioner or associate director (Quebec).

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Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, commonly known in English as the Mounties is the federal and national police service of Canada. As police services are the constitutional responsibility of provinces and territories of Canada, the RCMP's primary responsibility is the enforcement of federal criminal law, and sworn members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a peace officer in all provinces and territories of Canada. However, the service also provides police services under contract to eight of Canada's provinces, all three of Canada's territories, more than 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. In addition to enforcing federal legislation and delivering local police services under contract, the RCMP is responsible for border integrity; overseeing Canadian peacekeeping missions involving police; managing the Canadian Firearms Program, which licenses and registers firearms and their owners; and the Canadian Police College, which provides police training to Canadian and international police services.

Ontario Provincial Police

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 unincorporated areas, and provides support to other agencies. The OPP also has a number of local mandates through contracts with municipal governments, where it acts as the local police force and provides front-line services.

Vancouver Police Department

Vancouver Police Department

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is the police force for the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in the province after RCMP "E" Division.

West Vancouver Police Department

West Vancouver Police Department

The West Vancouver Police Department (WVPD) is the municipal police force for the district of West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Nelson Police Department

Nelson Police Department

The Nelson Police Department is the police force for the City of Nelson, British Columbia, Canada.

Sûreté du Québec

Sûreté du Québec

The Sûreté du Québec is the provincial police service for the Canadian province of Quebec. No official English name exists; the agency's name is sometimes translated to Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) in English-language sources. The headquarters of the Sûreté du Québec are located on Parthenais Street in Montreal's Sainte-Marie neighbourhood, and the service employs over 5,000 officers. The SQ is the second-largest provincial police service and the fourth-largest police service in Canada.

Police officer

Police officer

A police officer is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the rank "officer" is legally reserved for military personnel.

Ontario Police College

Ontario Police College

The Ontario Police College (OPC) is a police academy located in Malahide Township, just east of Aylmer, in Elgin County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.

RCMP Academy, Depot Division

RCMP Academy, Depot Division

RCMP Academy, Depot Division is the police training academy for Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) "cadets." Providing training since its establishment in 1885, the facility is located in the west part of Regina, Saskatchewan, near the airport, and consists of several buildings.

Police board

Police board

A police board is an appointed form of local government charged with the responsibility of overseeing a local police force.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, the chief of the National Police of Indonesia is often colloquially dubbed: "Kapolri", an acronym of "Kepala Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia" meaning "Head of the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia". He is also a four-star ranking officer in the national police. The National Police Chief is elected by the president based on the approval of the House of Representatives and is directly responsible to the president. Since Indonesia adopts the system of a unified "national police", the chief of the Indonesian National Police holds strong responsibility in policing authorities nationally across Indonesia. The police chief usually conducts strong relations and work together with the Commander of the National Armed Forces. In line with the general features of unified structure of local governments, all chiefs of the Indonesian police, at district level ("kapolsek", kepala kepolisian sektor"), municipal level ("kapolres", kepala kepolisian resor"), and provincial level ("kapolda", kepala kepolisian daerah) in Indonesia, are subordinates of Kapolri, the national police chief.

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Indonesian National Police

Indonesian National Police

The Indonesian National Police is the national law enforcement and police force of the Republic of Indonesia. Founded on 1 July 1946, it was formerly a part of the country's military since 1962. The police were formally separated from the armed forces on 1 April 1999 in a process which was formally completed on 1 July 1999.

Chief of the Indonesian National Police

Chief of the Indonesian National Police

The Chief of the Indonesian National Police, commonly known as the National Police Chief, is the official who heads the Indonesian National Police (Polri).

General officer

General officer

A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.

Said Soekanto Tjokrodiatmodjo

Said Soekanto Tjokrodiatmodjo

Police-General Said Soekanto Tjokrodiatmodjo was the first Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Kapolri) and National Hero of Indonesia.

Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres. With over 275 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.

President of Indonesia

President of Indonesia

The president of the Republic of Indonesia is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president leads the executive branch of the Indonesian government and is the commander-in-chief of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. Since 2004, the president and vice president are directly elected to a five-year term, once renewable, allowing for a maximum of 10 years in office.

Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces

Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces

The Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces is the professional head and highest-ranking officer of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. Directly answerable to the president of Indonesia, the position is held by any four-star officer who previously served as Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army (KSAD), Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy (KSAL) or Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force (KSAU).

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the chief police officer for 43 of the 45 territorial police forces and the three special police forces holds the rank of chief constable. The exceptions are the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police, where the chief police officer instead holds the rank of commissioner. The umbrella term for the chief constables and commissioners is "chief police officer". The term "chief officer", by contrast, includes the chief police officers and their deputies and assistants. The National Police Chiefs Council is the association for chief officers.

The rank of commissioner should not be confused with the police and crime commissioners. They are elected officials who oversee a police force and how its funds are spent, rather than being police officers.

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Chief police officer

Chief police officer

In the United Kingdom, a chief police officer is the most senior police officer in a police force. The chief police officers are the 53 Chief Constables, the Commissioner of the City of London Police and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. They are members of the National Police Chiefs' Council.

List of police forces of the United Kingdom

List of police forces of the United Kingdom

This is a list of the 45 territorial police forces and 3 special police forces of the United Kingdom. It does not include non-police law enforcement agencies or bodies of constables not constituted as police forces.

Chief constable

Chief constable

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, the Isle of Man Constabulary, States of Guernsey Police Service, and States of Jersey Police. 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.

City of London Police

City of London Police

The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, outside the city, is the much larger Metropolitan Police, a separate organisation. The City of London, which is now primarily a financial business district with a small resident population but a large commuting workforce, is the historic core of London, and has an administrative history distinct from that of the rest of the metropolis, of which its separate police force is one manifestation.

Police and crime commissioner

Police and crime commissioner

A police and crime commissioner is an elected official in England and Wales responsible for generally overseeing police forces. A police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is an elected official in England responsible for generally overseeing both police forces and fire services. Commissioners replaced now-abolished police authorities. The first incumbents were elected on 15 November 2012.

United States

Chief of police is the most common title for the head of a local police department. Alternate titles for a chief of police include police commissioner, colonel, police superintendent, police president or police director. In large urban areas, some departments are led by an overseer who is not a sworn officer, usually referred to as a commissioner. The New York City Police Department is one such case, where the police chief (full title: Chief of department) is the most senior sworn officer. A sheriff is the chief of a county law enforcement agency.

Although sheriffs are not usually counted as police chiefs, their agencies usually have the powers and role of a police department. Some sheriffs' agencies are limited to non-policing matters such as courtroom security. The usual difference between a sheriff and a police chief is that sheriffs are elected (except in New York City, Rhode Island and Hawaii) and responsible for a county[6] whereas a police chief manages law enforcement in a city or town and is appointed by its local government. The fraternal organization International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is an organization that many chiefs of police are associated with.

Many state constitutions require every county to have a sheriff; some make no provision for this position to be eliminated even in the case of the formation of a consolidated city–county or "metropolitan government". In this case, a decision must be made about how to divide the powers between the county sheriff and the city's chief of police. The usual compromise allows the chief of police to exercise law enforcement jurisdiction and to give the sheriff and his deputies authority over jails and the serving of civil papers. An alternative and lesser-used solution is to make the office of sheriff a purely ceremonial one. One other solution, an example of which is seen in the case of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, is to provide for the sheriff to simultaneously serve as the chief of police, thus remaining as the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) of the county.

The police chief of a small town may be the only paid employee of the police department and have a staff consisting only of volunteers when available. Conversely the police chief of a major city may have thousands or in the case of very large cities such as New York, 35,000 sworn officers. In addition, such a department may have thousands of employees other than police officers, including operators, secretaries, and unsworn peace officers. The qualifications and skills required to be a police chief vary widely. Another important consideration is how overtly a police department is influenced by politics which varies greatly from one jurisdiction to another. Increasingly, all U.S. law enforcement officers including small-town police chiefs and their charges are being required to meet at least minimum levels of professional training.

The rank insignia for the chief of a large or medium-sized department most often consists of three or four gold stars, similar to the insignia of a lieutenant general or general in the army. Smaller departments and state agencies most often consists of silver or gold eagles similar to colonel in the army.

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Police commissioner

Police commissioner

Police commissioner is a senior rank in many police forces of the world. In other jurisdictions, it is the title of a member of an oversight board.

New York City Police Department

New York City Police Department

The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, municipal police departments in the United States.

Sheriffs in the United States

Sheriffs in the United States

In the United States, a sheriff is an important official of a shire or county charged primarily with judicial duties. In the United States, a sheriff is one of the chief administrative offices in the country. It is his duty to take charge of prisoners, to oversee juries, and to prevent breaches of the peace. Sheriffs are usually elected, although some states have laws requiring certain qualifications of candidates. Elected sheriffs are accountable directly to the citizens of their county, the constitution of their state, and ultimately the United States Constitution.

Sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly translated to English as sherif.

International Association of Chiefs of Police

International Association of Chiefs of Police

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the world's largest professional association for police leaders.

State constitution (United States)

State constitution (United States)

In the United States, each state has its own written constitution.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is a combined city and county law enforcement agency for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is headed by the Sheriff of Clark County, who is publicly elected every four years. The sheriff is the only elected head law enforcement officer within the county, and, as such, the department is not under the direct control of its jurisdictional cities, Clark County, or the State of Nevada.

Politics

Politics

Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies politics and government is referred to as political science.

Lieutenant general (United States)

Lieutenant general (United States)

In the United States Armed Forces, a lieutenant general is a three-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.

General (United States)

General (United States)

In the United States military, a general is the most senior general-grade officer; it is the highest achievable commissioned officer rank that may be attained in the United States Armed Forces, with exception of the Navy and Coast Guard, which have the equivalent rank of admiral instead. The official and formal insignia of "general" is defined by its four stars.

Colonel (United States)

Colonel (United States)

A colonel in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, is the most senior field-grade military officer rank, immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general. Colonel is equivalent to the naval rank of captain in the other uniformed services. By law, an officer previously required at least 22 years of cumulative service and a minimum of three years as a lieutenant colonel before being promoted to colonel. With the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, military services now have the authorization to directly commission new officers up to the rank of colonel. The pay grade for colonel is O-6.

Personnel

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Agoston Haraszthy

Agoston Haraszthy

Agoston Haraszthy was a Hungarian American nobleman, adventurer, traveler, writer, town-builder, and pioneer winemaker in Wisconsin and California, often referred to as the "Father of California Wine", alongside Junípero Serra, as well as the "Father of California Viticulture," or the "Father of Modern Winemaking in California". One of the first men to plant vineyards in Wisconsin, he was the founder of the Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma, California, and an early writer on California wine and viticulture.

Jim Courtright (gunman)

Jim Courtright (gunman)

Timothy Isaiah Courtright, also known as "Longhair Jim" or "Big Jim" Courtright, was a Tarrant County Deputy Sheriff in Ft. Worth, Texas from 1876-1879. In 1887, he was killed in a shootout with gambler and gunfighter Luke Short. Before his death, people feared Courtright's reputation as a gunman, and he reduced Ft. Worth's murder rate by more than half, while reportedly extracting protection money from town business owners.

George T. Anderson

George T. Anderson

George Thomas Anderson was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Nicknamed "Tige," Anderson was noted as one of Robert E. Lee's hardest-fighting subordinates.

Ed Masterson

Ed Masterson

Edward John "Ed" Masterson was a lawman and the oldest brother of the American West gunfighters Bat Masterson and James Masterson.

Bat Masterson

Bat Masterson

Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to a working-class Irish family in Quebec, but he moved to the Western frontier as a young man and quickly distinguished himself as a buffalo hunter, civilian scout, and Indian fighter on the Great Plains. He later earned fame as a gunfighter and sheriff in Dodge City, Kansas, during which time he was involved in several notable shootouts.

Fred White (marshal)

Fred White (marshal)

Frederick G. White was an American lawman and the first town marshal of the mining boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory. White was elected to the position on January 6, 1880. At the time, Tombstone was still an emerging frontier town with fewer than 1,000 residents, and did not become an official city, with over 1,000 residents, until a year later. Before that time, White died in office following a notorious accidental shooting, and was succeeded by Virgil Earp.

Dallas Stoudenmire

Dallas Stoudenmire

Dallas Stoudenmire was an American Old West gunfighter and lawman who gained fame for a brief gunfight that was later dubbed the "Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight." Stoudenmire had a deadly reputation in his day and was involved in several gunfights.

Ben Thompson (lawman)

Ben Thompson (lawman)

Ben Thompson was a gunman, gambler, and sometimes lawman of the Old West. He was a contemporary of "Buffalo" Bill Cody, Bat Masterson, John Wesley Hardin, and "Wild Bill" Hickok, some of whom considered him a friend, others an enemy. Thompson fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, and later for Emperor Maximilian in Mexico. When hired in 1881 as marshal in Austin, Texas, the crime rate reportedly dropped sharply. Thompson was murdered at the age of 40 in San Antonio, Texas, in the "Vaudeville Theater Ambush."

David Hennessy

David Hennessy

David C. Hennessy was a police chief of New Orleans, Louisiana. As a young detective, he made headlines in 1881 when he captured a notorious Italian criminal, Giuseppe Esposito. In 1888, he was promoted to superintendent and chief of police. While in office he made a number of improvements to the force, and was well known and respected in the New Orleans community.

Bill Tilghman

Bill Tilghman

William Matthew Tilghman Jr. was a career lawman, gunfighter, and politician in Kansas and Oklahoma during the late 19th century. Tilghman was a Dodge City city marshal in the early 1880s and played a role in the Kansas County Seat Wars. In 1889 he moved to Oklahoma where he acquired several properties during a series of land rushes. While serving as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Oklahoma, he gained recognition for capturing the notorious outlaw Bill Doolin and helping to track and kill the other members of Doolin's gang, which made him famous as one of Oklahoma's "Three Guardsmen".

Frank Rizzo

Frank Rizzo

Francis Lazarro Rizzo was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democratic Party throughout the entirety of his career in public office. He switched to the Republican Party in 1986 and campaigned as a Republican for the final five years of his life.

Daryl Gates

Daryl Gates

Daryl Francis Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from 1978 to 1992. His length of tenure in this position was second only to that of William H. Parker. Gates is co-credited with the creation of SWAT teams with LAPD's John Nelson, who others claim was the originator of SWAT in 1965. Gates also co-founded D.A.R.E.

Source: "Chief of police", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 9th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_of_police.

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References
  1. ^ "Section 200.010: Chief of Police - Duties - Salary". Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  2. ^ "Municipal Code". Archived from the original on 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  3. ^ "Met Police Commissioner stops interview to make arrest". BBC News. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  4. ^ "London police chief interrupts interview to nab suspected thief". CTV News Channel. Bell Media. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  5. ^ "LAPD Chief Beck personally arrests officer on suspicion of having sex with a 15-year-old". The Los Angeles Times. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  6. ^ "About NSA". Archived from the original on 2010-01-10. Retrieved 2019-12-29.

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