A chap I recently encountered told me I would get in trouble if I arrested him because he knew the Chief Inspector. He couldn't specify which Chief Inspector he knew, the CI's name, or even if the senior officer in question worked in the same police force as me, but the gentleman ensured me it would be the end of my police career if I upset him. Needless to say I still locked him up!
WARNING - I am but a humble PC, so can only offer comment as
such. I have not graduated to the role of a senior officer - nor am I ever
likely to taking into consideration my all too frequent encounters with PSD!
To many outside the police
family, the confusing police rank structure and
the important purpose those officers fulfil - can be a bit of a mystery...
actually, the latter bit can be a bit mystifying to those in the family too. The public understanding is further distorted by
TV scenes of tough-talking, no nonsense DCI’s single-handedly kicking in doors
and wrestling armed assailants to the floor, uttering cool one-liners as they
do so (I’ve noticed Detective Inspector and Detective Chief Inspector seem to
be the rank most prominently glamourised in TV shows).
The graphic above shows how rank
is displayed on police insignia and on the epaulettes officers’ wear.
Regardless of what rank an
officer is and aspires to be, the promotion process usually works as follows:
1. An
officer expresses an interest (usually in writing) that he/she is keen in
progressing up the ranks. Normally the ambitious officer would explain why they
want the promotion (a whopping great big pay rise perhaps?), why they think
they are worthy of it and also what they have done thus far in their career to
justify it. If they’re very lucky they may be given an ‘acting’ position in the
new rank, whereby they assume the new role on a temporary basis to gain insight
and experience into it.
2. Next
the officer will demonstrate their knowledge by sitting an exam that should
reflect likely situations they could encounter and legislation they would need
to know if successfully promoted. Lots of mind numbing studying is involved. If
they achieve the required pass-mark the officer will continue in their acting
role, or perhaps be given an acting post if not already.
3. Next
comes ‘the board’. The go-getting officer will be required to squirm uncomfortably
before a group of senior officers who will ask them challenging questions about
how they intend to make their Force a better place, or explain how they might deal
with difficult situations. The candidate should draw on previous experience
where they have demonstrated sound judgement to overcome obstacles.
4. Finally,
once all the above is accomplished, the officer will usually be confirmed in
‘temporary’ new rank and will have a portfolio of objectives to achieve before
they are made ‘substantive’ and can truly look down at the officers they left floundering
behind.
For a fledgling police Constable
the prospect of starting their assault up the rank pyramid is a daunting one.
Generally speaking PC’s cannot even consider promotion before their two year
probation – or ‘student officer period’ – is completed. Even then most would be
advised to first spend many more years in grass roots policing, perfecting
their trade and developing a well-rounded perception of what policing entails –
not to mention gaining the respect of their peers.
For those interested, the police
pay for each rank are approximately as follows (as of the new Winsor Report pay
scales):
Constable (pay £19,000 to
£36,519)
Sergeant (£36,500 to £41,000)
Inspector (£46,700 to £50,700)
Chief Inspector (£52,000 to
£55,000)
Superintendent (£62,000 to
£72,000)
Chief Superintendent (£74,000 to
£79,000)
Assistant Chief Constables,
Deputy Chief Constables and - the big cheese - Chief Constables get paid a lot
more than the above and depends on the geographical location of their
respective Force.
Above the rank of Inspector (and
sometimes even below it) police officers tend to spend much of their time
sitting in an air-conditioned office, sipping on free coffee, cascading down
instructions to those less fortunate; or playing politics with other senior
officers and/or local/national government types. They very rarely work Night
shifts, almost never arrest people,
and only venture out of the building to attend a PR opportunity, visit a
conference centre with a free buffet, or play golf with other notable officers of
similar rank and/or influential members of society. I enjoy watching DCI John
Luther on the BBC smashing his way into a flat and punching out the murderer,
or Gene Hunt slapping about the prisoner in a back room just as much as anyone;
but the very undramatised reality is
it just doesn’t happen like that. The majority of action out on the mean
streets of the UK is done by Constables and Sergeants. Overall supervision,
planning and strategy is left to the pointy end of the pyramid.
However, whilst it’s easy for
mere grunts on the ground like me to
knock these up on high decision-makers as being out of touch, pompous,
sell-outs who couldn’t catch a thief if he was stealing their own underwear at
the time, I do acknowledge the police service cannot function without them. To
be effective the police needs pencil
pushers, politicians, bureaucrats and dignitaries just as much as it needs hard
working officers out on the streets getting their hands dirty and gripping up
villains. Fortunately at present it’s some consolation for us foot-soldiers to
know that once upon a time – albeit sometimes long, long ago – those who now bang
on about detection rates, health and safety, public perception and falling
customer satisfaction surveys were once just like us – working on the streets,
fighting with drunks, arresting shop-lifters and chasing junkies - before they
set off on the path of betterment. They must
have shown some talent and aptitude for policing (or perhaps brown-nosing?)
to get to the perch they’re now on, right? They must have had some background in front line policing. This is why
so many officers and police staff have serious reservations about the Winsor
Report’s recommendation to allow skilled people to join from outside the police
service at Inspector rank – but I’ll leave tearing into the Winsor Report for
other police bloggers.
In summary, I have no idea what
the majority of the ‘pips and crowns’ do who stroll the corridors of power at
my police Head Quarters; or if they justify their lavish salary; but, like I’ve
been told many times before: “It’s a disciplined service, m’boy!” – which means
shut-up, accept it and get on with it… and that’s what most of us do.
PS. Don’t ask me what a Police
& Crime Commissioner does as I’m yet to find out myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment