Police & Greggs
P1
Police:
The role of the police is to protect life
and property. Preserving order.
preventing the commissions of
offences. Bringing offenders to justice
There are 43 forces in England and Wales and one in both Scotland and Northern
Ireland (Scotland used to have 8 separate forces until April last year when they were
amalgamated into one). Uk forces can be very different in size, ranging from 2800
police officers in the London Metropolitan police to 700-800 officers in some of the
smaller forces, like the Warwickshire force for example. Because of this size different
forces, there is no standard organizational structure as such.
,Police departments typically use one of four basic organizational types. The four
types are line, line and staff, functional, and Matrix. The line organisation uses a
simple chain of the command structure, where authority flows from the top to the
bottom in a distinct line.
file:///C:/Users/edr20262658/Downloads/organisational-structure-of-uk-police---safe
rworld%20(1).pdf
A typical organisational structure in most UK forces would be:
1. The chief constable is a career police officer. In the UK everyone joins the
police as the lowest rank which is a constable. While there are various
schemes to fast track promotion, every chief constable will have progressed
through all the ranks. The chief constable is chosen, following a robust
selection process, by the police Crime Commissioner for the area. Chief
constable posts are not political appointments as happens in many countries.
When a post becomes vacant, suitability qualified officers from across the UK
can apply. Therefore Chief Constables apply for the promotion. This results in a
healthy cross-fertilisation of senior officers and introduces new thinking
, 2. There is one deputy (apartment from Scotland where there are 3 Deputies
because of the recent amalgamation of its forces explained above. The deputy
replaces the chief constable when the Chief constable is absent; The deputy
also has specific responsibilities, in particular, the Department which deals
with internal discipline and internal investigation (mentioned above) usually
sits under the deputy's authority.
3. At the next level down in the Command Team, there are: Assistant Chief
Constables and equivalent Civilian Ranks, as some responsibilities such as
Director of Human Resources and Director of Finance are undertaken by
qualified civilian professionals
4. Most forces are then structured depending on the number of Assistant chief
constables and civilian equivalents, as each of them oversees a department.
Assistant chief constables are responsible to the chief constable for the
effectiveness and efficiency of the departments they control.
For example in the police service of Northern Ireland, there are 5 assistance
chief constables:
● ACC – Operations – Urban (Greater Belfast)
● ACC – Operations – Rural (Rest of the country)
● ACC – Crime Operations
● ACC – Operational Support (Specialist functions ie Armed Response/
Public Order/ Traffic Branch)
● ACC – Criminal Justice
and 4 Departments which are headed by suitably qualified civilians:
● Financial Services – Headed by a qualified accountant
● Human Resources – Headed by qualified Human Resources specialist
● Legal Services – Headed by a qualified and experienced Lawyer
● Media and PR – Headed by a qualified and experienced person with a
background in media and journalism
Some examples of some of the bigger UK forces include:
● Greater Manchester Police
● http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/sites/default/files/files/command-
team/force_structure_chart.pdf
P1
Police:
The role of the police is to protect life
and property. Preserving order.
preventing the commissions of
offences. Bringing offenders to justice
There are 43 forces in England and Wales and one in both Scotland and Northern
Ireland (Scotland used to have 8 separate forces until April last year when they were
amalgamated into one). Uk forces can be very different in size, ranging from 2800
police officers in the London Metropolitan police to 700-800 officers in some of the
smaller forces, like the Warwickshire force for example. Because of this size different
forces, there is no standard organizational structure as such.
,Police departments typically use one of four basic organizational types. The four
types are line, line and staff, functional, and Matrix. The line organisation uses a
simple chain of the command structure, where authority flows from the top to the
bottom in a distinct line.
file:///C:/Users/edr20262658/Downloads/organisational-structure-of-uk-police---safe
rworld%20(1).pdf
A typical organisational structure in most UK forces would be:
1. The chief constable is a career police officer. In the UK everyone joins the
police as the lowest rank which is a constable. While there are various
schemes to fast track promotion, every chief constable will have progressed
through all the ranks. The chief constable is chosen, following a robust
selection process, by the police Crime Commissioner for the area. Chief
constable posts are not political appointments as happens in many countries.
When a post becomes vacant, suitability qualified officers from across the UK
can apply. Therefore Chief Constables apply for the promotion. This results in a
healthy cross-fertilisation of senior officers and introduces new thinking
, 2. There is one deputy (apartment from Scotland where there are 3 Deputies
because of the recent amalgamation of its forces explained above. The deputy
replaces the chief constable when the Chief constable is absent; The deputy
also has specific responsibilities, in particular, the Department which deals
with internal discipline and internal investigation (mentioned above) usually
sits under the deputy's authority.
3. At the next level down in the Command Team, there are: Assistant Chief
Constables and equivalent Civilian Ranks, as some responsibilities such as
Director of Human Resources and Director of Finance are undertaken by
qualified civilian professionals
4. Most forces are then structured depending on the number of Assistant chief
constables and civilian equivalents, as each of them oversees a department.
Assistant chief constables are responsible to the chief constable for the
effectiveness and efficiency of the departments they control.
For example in the police service of Northern Ireland, there are 5 assistance
chief constables:
● ACC – Operations – Urban (Greater Belfast)
● ACC – Operations – Rural (Rest of the country)
● ACC – Crime Operations
● ACC – Operational Support (Specialist functions ie Armed Response/
Public Order/ Traffic Branch)
● ACC – Criminal Justice
and 4 Departments which are headed by suitably qualified civilians:
● Financial Services – Headed by a qualified accountant
● Human Resources – Headed by qualified Human Resources specialist
● Legal Services – Headed by a qualified and experienced Lawyer
● Media and PR – Headed by a qualified and experienced person with a
background in media and journalism
Some examples of some of the bigger UK forces include:
● Greater Manchester Police
● http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/sites/default/files/files/command-
team/force_structure_chart.pdf
