- This is about the police rank/position. For the use in graphical user interfaces, see Inspector window.
- This is about the police rank/position. For the DePatie-Freleng animated character, see The Inspector.
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.
Australia
In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the next senior rank from Senior Sergeant and is less senior than a Chief Inspector or superintendent (in the cases of the Queensland Police and Western Australian Police). 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, District Inspector and Chief Inspector.
Canada
In most Canadian police services the rank of Inspector is the first above the sergeant ranks. It is usually immediately below the rank of Superintendent. Senior Inspectors are higher raining administrative rank on Canada police forces.
France
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.
Germany
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 inspektor is kommissar.
Hong Kong
In Royal Hong Kong Police Force(now called Hong Kong Police Force), inspector (including probationary inspector and senior inspector is the rank senior to station sergeant and junior to chief inspector, an inspector is a leader of a team, a shift or a police station. The rank badge of probation inspector is one silver star on his/her shoulder pad. The rank badge of inspector is two silver stars on his/her shoulder pad. The rank badge of senior inspector is two silver stars above a silver horrizonly bar on his/her shoulder badge. The rank badge of chief inspector is three silver stars on his/her shoulder pad. The Hong Kong Customs and Excise Services also have inspector ranks like the Hong Kong Police Force. The rank badge is similar to HKP, but their stars and bar are bronze.
India
In the police forces of India, an inspector is a non-commissioned police officer ranking above a Sub-Inspector and below a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). Inspectors generally (but not always) have jurisdictions over more than one police station (generally under a Sub-Inspector of Police). However, in many cities, Inspectors would be the Station House Officer (SHO) at every police station. The rank insignia for a Police Inspector is three stars, and a red and blue striped ribbon at the outer edge of the shoulder straps. In states where an inspector is in charge of a police circle (consisting more than one police station) he is also referred to as "Circle Inspector" (CI).
Republic of Ireland
In the Garda Síochána, inspector is senior to Sergeant and junior to Superintendent. Inspectors can be either detectives or in uniform.
Malaysia
In Malaysia's police force, the rank Inspector is one step above the Sub-Inspector and one step under Assistant Superintendent. There are three stages: probation inspector (three years probation), inspector and chief inspector. Inspectors are recruited differently from the normal police constable. Their training is also longer.
Romania
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).
United Kingdom
In British police forces, inspector is the rank senior to sergeant and junior to chief inspector. Inspectors are not all detectives; in fact, the majority of inspectors are uniformed. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inspectors are known as Detective Inspectors (DI).
Many Commonwealth police forces also use the rank. The rank has existed since the foundation of the Metropolitan Police in 1829, when it ranked directly below Superintendent. The rank insignia of an Inspector is two silver pips, the same insignia as a Lieutenant in the British Army. Police Constables and Sergeants often refer to, and sometimes (especially in the CID) address, Inspectors as "Gaffer" (generally North and Midlands), "Guv" (generally South) or "Boss".
United States
In the United States, the term inspector can have very different meanings depending on the law enforcement agency. For example, in the San Francisco Police Department, inspector is the normal title for a detective, and the investigative branch of the SFPD is called the Bureau of Inspectors.
In the Berkeley, California, Police Department, inspector was once the title used for an investigative supervisor, who commanded a specific specialized detail, like Homicide, Robbery, or Property Crimes, within the department's Detective Division. They ranked between sergeants and lieutenants and, on the comparatively rare occasions when they wore uniforms, their rank insignia was identical to that worn by warrant officers in the US Armed Forces. The title has since been phased out, and the duties once performed by inspectors are now performed by detective sergeants.
In the Wisconsin State Patrol, inspectors are state troopers assigned to the motor carrier safety inspection unit where they enforce trucking laws and regulations.
In the Hayward, California Police Department, the rank of inspector is a civil service rank above a detective and below that of a sergeant.
In the New York City Police Department, inspector is a high-ranking executive position, two grades above a Captain, and one grade above a Deputy Inspector. In the LAPD, the rank of inspector, one grade above captain, was changed to commander in 1974, because LAPD senior officers preferred the more military-sounding title.
In the FBI, an inspector is a special agent whose main duty is inspecting local Field Offices and Resident Agencies to make sure they are operating efficiently. Since FBI Inspectors are not tied to any particular Field Office, they have, in the past, also been used as trouble-shooting investigators on major cases. Joseph Sullivan, the model for Inspector Lew Erskine, the fictional character played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in the 1965-1974 ABC TV series The FBI, was perhaps the best-known of the Bureau's Major Case Inspectors. The United States Marshals Service employs a similar position.
In the Postal Inspection Service, inspector is the name given to 1811 Criminal Investigators, better known as special agents in most other Federal Law Enforcement Agencies.
In American administrative law, an inspector is an official charged with the duty to issue permits, such as a building inspector or sanitation inspector, and to enforce the relevant regulations and laws. An agency may have an Inspector General responsible for preventing internal fraud, waste, abuse and other agency deficiencies.
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