Inspector

In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the next senior rank from senior sergeant and is less senior than a superintendent (in the cases of the Queensland Police and Western Australia Police) in the other Australian police forces. Members holding the rank usually wear an epaulette featuring three silver pips, the same rank badge as a captain in the army. In addition to the general rank of inspector, some police forces use other ranks such as detective inspector and district inspector.

In Austria a similar scheme was used as in Germany. At some point the police inspector was completely removed from the list of service ranks. The current police service has an inspectors service track with Inspektor being the entry level – it is followed by Revierinspektor (precinct inspector), Gruppeninspektor (group inspector), Bezirksinspektor (district inspector), Abteilungsinspektor (section inspector), Kontrollinspektor (control inspector) and Chefinspektor (chief inspector).

In most Canadian police services the rank of inspector is the first officer/commissioned officer rank, above that of staff sergeant. It is usually immediately below the rank of superintendent. Depending on the police force, an inspector may be considered senior management. The rank insignia of an inspector in Canada is usually a crown on the epaulettes, the insignia of a major in the army. In some police services such as the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary or the Vancouver Police Department, the rank insignia are three pips, similar to the insignia of an army captain, while in others including the Toronto Police Service and Peel Regional Police, the insignia consists of two maple leaves, similar to an army lieutenant's insignia.

Provincial police services and the majority of municipal police services, such as the Toronto Police Service have a staff inspector rank, which ranks above inspector and below superintendent.[1][2][3]

In the French National Police, inspecteur is a former rank of members of the Command and Management Corps. There were several grades of inspecteur, with senior detectives holding the various grades of commissaire. See French National Police for current ranks. In the French customs, inspecteur is the first rank of members of the Command and Management Corps.

Currently, in Germany, Inspektor is a civil service rank. It is the lowest and therefore the entry rank of the gehobener Dienst (upper service) requiring a degree from a three-year administrative college. The rank is not used in the German police services; there the equivalent of inspector is Kommissar. In earlier times the upper service track was called Inspektorenlaufbahn (inspectors service track) ranging from Inspektor, Oberinspektor (senior inspector), Amtmann, Amtsrat to Oberamtsrat (senior supervisor).

The title is used on many professional areas that require an inspection service, like Brandinspektor (fire inspector in the fire department), Steuerinspektor (tax inspector in the financial department) and Bauinspektor (building inspector in building control) that are in a supervision position of their department. In many administrations, a corresponding position exists like Regierungsinspektor (government inspector on the federal level), Stadtinspektor/Stadtverwaltungsinspektor (city administration inspector), Kreisinspektor/Kreisverwaltungsinspektor (county administration inspector) that serve in supervision of the department.

In some regions Inspektor is a colloquial name for any police officer, just like in Austria.

In the Hong Kong Police Force, inspector (including probationary inspector, senior inspector) is a rank senior to station sergeant but junior to chief inspector, leading a sub-unit between 30 and 80 people in day-to-day policing. The rank badge for probationary inspector is one silver pip on his or her epaulette; two silver pips for inspector of police; and two silver pips and one bar for senior inspector of police. The epaulettes rank badge for chief inspector is three silver pips. The epaulettes of all inspectors do not show their unique identification number. Plainclothes detective inspectors have the prefix "detective" identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or Organised Crime Triad Bureau (OCTB).

Several of the HKP's past and current commissioner of chiefs joined the force as a probationary inspector.

The Customs and Excise Department also has an inspector rank but with bronze stars and bars rank badges instead.

In addition, there are health inspectors from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department who carry out investigations and prosecutions on sanitary nuisances and food business irregularities under relevant ordinances. They are characterised by golden stars and yellow rank badges.

Inspector rank insignia in the Indian police

An inspector of police in India is typically the officer in charge of a police station, and may be designated station house officer (SHO). In rural areas in some states, an inspector of police may be in charge of a police circle, which comprises two or more police stations, and designated as circle inspector (CI). Inspectors oversee investigations and co-ordinate law enforcement operations in their respective jurisdictions, and may also head specialist units. Their insignia is three stars. The rank is higher than sub-inspector and lower than deputy superintendent. Inspectors, along with sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors, comprise around 13% of the total police personnel in India.[4]

In the Indonesian National Police, there are four levels of inspector, which are Inspektur Polisi Satu (first police inspector), Inspektur Polisi Dua (senior police inspector), Ajun Inspektur Polisi Satu (first police inspector adjutant), and Ajun Inspektur Polisi Dua (second police inspector adjutant). Those ranks are below the rank of Ajun Komisaris Polisi (police commissioner adjutant) and above the rank of Brigadir Polisi Kepala (chief police brigadier).

In the Garda Síochána, inspectors (Irish: cigire) are senior to sergeants and junior to superintendents. Inspectors may be either detectives or in uniform.

In the Polizia di Stato, the position of Ispettore (inspector) replaced the rank of Maresciallo (marshal) after the 1981 reorganization and demilitarization of the corps; an Ispettore is thus a sergeant of several sorts, above the rank of Sovrintendente (superintendent, which is somewhat equal to a senior corporal) and under the rank of Commissario (commissioner). There are three four inspector ranks in the Polizia di Stato: Vice Ispettore (assistant inspector), Ispettore (inspector), Ispettore Capo (chief inspector) and Ispettore Superiore (special inspector, or superior inspector), roughly equivalent to the ranks ranging from junior sergeant to second lieutenant. A fifth position, called Ispettore Superiore S.U.P.S., where the acronym stands for Sostituto Ufficiale di Pubblica Sicurezza (special inspector – substitute public safety commissioned officer), is used to designate those inspectors which can act as substitutes for commissioners in the chain of command under certain situations, or in police detachments that are too small to require the presence of a commissioner; when this happens, the officer is named Ispettore Superiore – Sostituto Commissario (special inspector – substitute commissioner). Inspectors can serve either in uniformed patrol duties, plainclothed patrol duties, or as detectives. The inspector ranks are the highest that an Italian police officer can reach without having a university degree.

In the Royal Malaysia Police, the rank of inspector is one level above sub-inspector and one level below assistant superintendent. There are two stages: probation inspector (probation lasts within three years) and inspector. Inspectors are recruited differently from normal police constables, requiring at least a degree, and their training is longer.

In the Police of Montenegro, the title of police inspector (policijski inspektor) is reserved for college or police academy educated staff, with six ranks based on seniority (junior police inspector, police inspector, police inspector I class, independent police inspector, senior police inspector, senior police inspector I class and chief police inspector). Although supervisory staff in uniformed police units also hold various police inspector ranks, in common parlance, the title of inspector is usually used referring to police officers working in plainclothes in criminal investigation units, equivalent to detective in some countries.

There are also numerous civilian inspector titles, fitting various inspection and supervision roles within governmental structure of Montenegro (health inspector, tax inspector, tourism inspector, etc.)

In the Nepal Police, the rank of inspector is generally the next senior rank from senior sub-inspector (SSI) and is less senior than a deputy superintendent of police (DSP). Members holding the rank usually wear an epaulette featuring one pair of crossed kukri, the same rank badge as an inspector in the Armed Police Force.

In the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, the rank of inspector is one level above chief sergeant and below senior inspector. Officer cadets normally graduate and automatically become an inspector.

In the Philippines, inspector is a rank in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Fire Protection. It is above the senior officer 4 (sergeant) and below the senior inspector (captain). It is regarded as an equivalent of a lieutenant in the Army. It was formerly also used by the Philippine National Police.

In Poland, inspector (inspektor) is a high rank (above podinspektor and młodszy inspektor, but below nadinspektor), comparable to colonel of the armed forces.

In the Romanian Police, inspector is a rank senior to subinspector and junior to inspector principal and corresponds to the former rank of police lieutenant (see Romanian Police § Ranks).

In the Singapore Police Force, there are several ranks that have the title of inspector in it.

In the junior police officer category, there is the rank of station inspector, senior station inspector and senior station inspector (2). The title of inspector is in the senior police officer category. For National Servicemen, outstanding policemen may be appointed as a National Service probationary inspector.

In the National Police Cadet Corps, the rank of probationary inspector is given to officer cadet trainees who have successfully completed their Officers' Basic Training Course or Honorary Officers' Basic Training Course. Probationary inspectors who pass their probationary period will then attain the rank of inspector. The rank insignia of probationary inspector and inspector is two pips, with the letters NPCC below it, so as to differentiate NPCC inspectors from Singapore Police Force personnel.[5]

In Spain, the rank of inspector exists in the National Police Force[6] of Spain (Cuerpo Nacional de Policía), the Catalan Police Force, and several municipal police forces.

In the Sri Lanka Police, inspector of police (IP) is senior to sub-inspector and junior to chief inspector. In many towns, inspectors would be the officer in charge (OIC) at most police stations. The rank insignia for a police inspector is two stars. All those officers are deemed to be gazzated officers and staff grade officers of public service.

In addition to the police, the term inspector is used in other government departments for posts such as chief inspector of excise, inspector of excise, chief inspector of customs, inspector of customs, co-operative inspector, fisheries inspector, public health inspector.

UK police inspector epaulette

Within the British police, inspector is the second supervisory rank. It is senior to that of sergeant, and junior to that of chief inspector. The rank is mostly operational, meaning that inspectors are directly concerned with day-to-day policing. Uniformed inspectors are often responsible for supervising a duty shift made up of constables and sergeants, or act in specialist roles such as supervising road traffic policing.

The rank of inspector has existed since the foundation of the Metropolitan Police, formed in 1829, when it was used to designate the rank immediately below that of superintendent, and many Commonwealth police forces also use the term.

Plainclothes detective inspectors are equal in rank to their uniformed counterparts, the prefix "detective" identifying them as having been trained in criminal investigation and being part of or attached to their force's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The epaulettes of uniformed inspectors, unlike those of constables and sergeants, do not show a divisional or personal identification number. Instead they feature Order of the Bath stars, informally known as "pips", being the same insignia as those of a lieutenant in the British Army.

As of 2020 newly promoted inspectors receive a salary of £53,000 (£55,000 London) rising to £57,000 (£59,000 London).[7]

In the Metropolitan Police, the rank was formerly officially known as station inspector to distinguish it from the more senior rank of sub-divisional inspector (abolished in 1949). A station inspector wore a single star on his epaulettes until 1936, when this changed to a star over two bars to accommodate the new rank of junior station inspector (wearing a star over one bar).[8]

In the United States, the term inspector can have very different meanings depending on the law enforcement agency.

• Police rank
• Detective
• Investigator (disambiguation)
• Special agent
• Suffixes (or, er, ar, history)